Two Become One
by tititenis
Summary: Four years have passed since Snow White cast the Dark Curse and sent everyone to Storybrooke where she rules over all as Mayor. As promised by a 9 year old boy, Prince Henry goes to Storybrooke to find his mothers and break Snow White's Curse with Truest Love kiss. The only problem is that they don't remember him or each other. This is the sequel of Heroes and Villains.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** So because of all the favorites and follows I have received after writing Heroes and Villains, I decided to upload my sequel to the story! I promise you to be prepared for a fun and bumpy ride. These introductory chapters will be shorter than my usual ones, but after that is done be ready for my usual 7000-8000 word chapters. Hope you enjoy this update and kudos to all!

PS: Since this is a sequel I suggest you read Heroes and Villains. But, if you would like to be informed and surprised with the new characters of this story then you can read the explanations and summaries given to them.

* * *

Prologue

 **4 Years Ago at the Dark Kingdom**

Snow White was not sure of how much had passed since she was incarcerated by her husband and daughter. She had seen the way the Evil Queen stared at her, the relief she felt when her own guards and people placed the shackles on her wrists. Not only had it been humiliating for her to know people despised and betrayed her, but she had also discovered Cora's lies and deceit. She had been so angered at the woman that, were it not for the fact that she had been captured and placed in a magical prison at the land of the fairies, Snow was willing to cut her head. Angry at the position she was in, barely allowed to see where she was and with only Charming as a companion from time to time, Snow was slowly and surely plotting her revenge. The only problem was that no guard was willing or ready to betray their Queens, because that she had heard. The news of Queen Regina of the Dark Kingdom and Queen Emma of the White Kingdom's wedding had even reached the confines of the dungeons. Everyone, the peasants, councilors and guards had been extremely excited with the news that Snow had heard many whispering about the wedding and pregnancy of the Evil Queen.

 _"They say the child is the product of Truest Love." a guard had whispered excitedly._

 _"Yeah, and that he is coming faster than the normal. Like Queen Regina is going to give birth soon." another one added to the conversation._

 _"I heard." the woman giving them their meals said. "That the child is special, very powerful and because of that well protected. Queen Emma, or any member of their Royal Guard, don't leave Queen Regina alone at any second."_

 _"Of course the child will be special! Born out of two witches, one with dark and the other with light magic." the first guard huffed. "Trust me, if the Queens are powerful then this child will be even more so."_

 _"Is that why they're getting married?" the second guard asked._

 _"Of course not." the woman reproached him. "They're getting married because they love each other."_

 _"And, once they do their heir will have the right to both kingdoms, the Dark and White." he chuckled. "Imagine the irony of finally seeing King Leopold's land united under the rule of the child of the woman that had a hand in killing him and his granddaughter that betrayed the White's."_

The appeal this information had to Snow White was intense. She realized soon that even if she managed to escape her prison she needed a strong ally to support her uprising and fight against the two witches. She had underestimated them the first time and she was not going to make the same mistake again. She had let her own self-security and ignorance evade all the angles of the rebellion and had made her lose her father's kingdom. She was not going to let this pass. In fact, she was going to make them suffer by taking everything from them. She was still unsure of how, but she promised herself that she was not going to die in this prison. Her thoughts of revenge and vengeance were distracted by the arrival of Charming, who she had seen less and less with the passing of time. At first she had noticed his sadness at being there, having to see his wife suffer and unwilling to repent or change. Snow honestly didn't care about this, and in fact, had somehow been relieved when the man gave up and instead just sat quietly in front of her. Now Snow noticed that the man was different, that the sadness and sorrow from his eyes was mostly gone. She was not naive, and she still remembered the many years spent with her husband. Charming had fallen in love, or was on the way to fall in love again. This displeased her tremendously. In fact, she wanted to know who was the woman stealing her husband away from her. She no longer had a claim to him, and she honestly didn't care about him when he loved her, but that didn't mean that he could move on. She was that selfish and she didn't mind.

"Charming, long time no see." the woman said softly while watching him sit. "I have missed you."

Charming exhaled softly and looked at her. "Snow..." he started and Snow was surprised when he spoke instead of just staying quiet. "I came here to tell you that this was going to be the last time you would see me here. I tried my best to help you, in good and bad times, but there is no longer an us. The woman I fell in love with has been gone for many years." he looked down. "And I was naive enough at first to believe that I could bring her back. That I could save you."

Snow noticed the tears falling from his eyes and a very small part of herself felt sorry for him. The bigger part, on the other hand, was angry and feeling that this was the ultimate betrayal.

"But the only person that can save you is yourself." he nodded, trying to convince himself. "I have done my duty to you, my daughter and our family." he kept convincing himself. "And now it's time I move on and try to find happiness again. Please understand"

Snow laughed darkly. "The only thing I have to understand here is that you grew tired of coming because you're fucking someone else." she approached the cell walls. "Who is it?! Who is screwing the husband of the White Queen!"

"Former White Queen." Charming said firmly. "You're no longer a queen."

"That position Emma believes she has was built on a lie. That crown on her head will return to its rightful owner, to me."

"It's already on its rightful owner." he said. "And I regret not seeing it earlier. Perhaps we could have stopped all this from happening."

"You will regret betraying me Charming!" Snow screamed when she saw Charming standing up from the chair. "You can't abandon me, I forbid it as your wife!"

"My wife died many years ago." Charming smiled sadly at her and turned around.

"Come back! I'm not finished! Come back this instant!" Snow kept screaming until her husband disappeared from sight. "This betrayal will not be forgotten." she whispered. "He will pay, Emma will pay, the Evil Queen will pay. They will all pay! I will make them suffer, I will make them my slaves, I will make their lives a living hell!"

"All promises if you don't get out of here." an annoying voice said from behind her and she immediately saw the Dark One smiling at her.

"What are you doing here?" she spat at the Imp.

"Is that the way to greet your savior?" he laughed.

"You are no savior but the devil himself." Snow said while moving towards the back of the cell. "Everyone knows your aid comes with a price, one that usually favors only you."

"That is true." he chuckled. "But this time what I want and what you need turn out to be the same."

"I'm listening."

"I have my reasons for going to the land without magic." he started. "And if you ask Cora she will tell confirm what I said." he then laughed maniacally. "Upps, I forgot, you two got captured!"

"My patience is running low..."

"Well, let's just say that if I managed to give you the Dark Curse and free you from your cell." he looked at her. "Would you use it to take us all to a new land where you would rule?"

"And what would you win from it?"

"A position of comfort, of power." he smiled. "Besides, there is no real danger for you since everyone, apart from yourself since you casted the Curse, will forget their identity."

"What must I do?" Snow smiled softly.

"You know what you must do." the Imp winked at her. "You must take the heart of the thing you love most."

"I don't know who that would be..."

"Don't try to lie your Majesty." he spat her title mockingly. "We both know you do. The real question is, will you take his heart or is it too late and it already belongs to someone else?"

"His heart only belongs to me!" she roared and stood up. "And I will do what I must in order to make them all pay." she approached him with an evil smile. "You got yourself a deal." she took the magic pen and signed on the dotted line.

"Wonderful making business with you." he smiled maniacally. "Now, you just wait here until I come back with everything you need." he transported out of the cell. "After all, there is a Dark Curse I must retrieve." he finished and with a last bow disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

"Soon..." Snow whispered to herself. "Soon you will all pay for betraying me." she started chuckling. "The time of Queen Snow White will return and you will all belong to me!" she cackled while finally sitting on her chair.

After all the waiting she had done already, more time didn't really matter to her. Not when it came with the promise of destroying the life and kingdom that her daughter and enemy had taken so long to build. Watching their kingdom, hopes and dreams crumble was going to be a plus. And, to make things better, she was going to take their child and raise him as her own, willing and ready to do her bidding. She was not going to make the same mistakes she did with Emma. In fact, she was going to do everything in her power to make him hate Emma and the Evil Queen and then set him free to kill them. Watching him do that was going to be a fun thing to see. For that, Snow laughed, she was willing to wait a little more time.


	2. Magic, Witches and a Car Ride

**Author's Note:** This is officially the first chapter of this sequel. I will start by explaining a couple of things so you don't stop reading.

1\. This story is centered on Once Upon a Time. As you will notice soon enough I have used characters and names from another series named Warehouse 13. This story is not a crossover and will not have anyone apart from Myka and Helena in it. There will be small mentions of Warehouse themes but they are all explained by Henry as you will all see.

Check the end of the chapter for a better explanation.

Kudos and hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

 **4 Years Later**

 **Boston, Massachusetts**

"Are you sure Archie gave us the right direction?" Myka asked the moment they found themselves in the lower parts of Boston.

"According to him and his calculations we are near the Artifact." Helena said just as unconvinced as Myka was. "Remind me why we chose to come to this retrieval instead of letting Pete and Steve take it?"

"Because we were tired of staying at the Warehouse doing inventory?" Myka chuckled while reminding her. "Besides, you told me you had not been in Boston since 1870."

"It has changed tremendously since those days." Helena said while seeing some awful looking buildings. "And apparently not for the better."

"It's because we are in the poor parts of the city." the brunette explained to her. "Perhaps if we do this retrieval fast enough we will have time to go to downtown. There are still some buildings from the 19th century."

"That does sound promising." Helena smiled warmly at her. "Thank you darling."

"No problem. That's what friends are for." she managed to smile through the last part of her sentence. _Although I want to be more than that,_ Myka told herself.

"Stop Myka." Helena let her know and Myka pushed the brake. "This is the address." she pointed towards a building that was surrounded by cops, ambulances and the coroner's' van.

"And we thought this was going to be an easy retrieval." Myka murmured while taking her gun and I.D out. "At least it seems that Archie's directions were correct."

"Indeed." Helena looked up at the name of the place and her eyes opened drastically. "Although I am currently not happy with him for not mentioning to us what this place was." she pointed towards the entrance.

"Lady of Forgiveness' Orphanage." Myka murmured to herself and then realized what this could mean for Helena. "I will kill Archie." she whispered with every intention of making that happen. "Helena, you don't have to come in."

"We do not know what is inside there. You need me as backup." she said reluctantly. "Although I appreciate the concern and sentiment. In fact, I will not stop you from harming Archie once we make it back."

"Good." the brunette huffed. "This thing between the two of you is turning to be ridiculous. The jokes and pranks were ok, but what he just did know is not."

"Relax Myka." the older woman grabbed her hands and squeezed them softly. "Save all that anger for the old man." she smiled softly. "And let us get this over with."

"Ok." Myka decided to let things ago and start acting professionally.

Quickly leading Helena, Myka took out her I.D and showed it to the local cops who questionably looked at the two of them but nevertheless allowed them to pass. Myka was all aware of what it meant to be cordial towards fellow organizations, and in order to prevent problems of jurisdiction, they were basically told to 'play nice' with one another. Now before she had thought of the term as silly and annoying, but currently using it to her own advantage as a Warehouse agent made her be thankful for the courtesy treatment.

"Agents." a man of mid 40's approached them. "Detective Morgan, Boston PD. What can I do for you?"

"Agents Bering and Wells, Secret Service." Myka said for them while showing their I.D's. "We were just wondering what happened here?"

"And why would that interest the Secret Service?"

"The President was considering on his next visit to Boston to do a charity event in the poor parts of the city. We were sent ahead to make sure things were alright."

"Well, apart from the usual crime and mugging there is nothing unusual here." Detective Morgan shared with them. "Turns out that the people in charge of this place were using the hotel as a marihuana producing factory." he snorted. "Got caught after many children started to complain about the smell and an undercover agent overheard them."

"They were producing drugs with children here?" Helena asked baffled. _What has happened to the parents and adults of this generation?_

"The people don't give a shit about the children, only see them as a way to get a check from the government." the detective explained. "All of these children are orphans and have been moving from orphanage to orphanage. " he started walking while motioning for the agents to follow him. "Now, we came here at first for the allegations of drugs, but one of the kids apparently saw a crime happen."

"How old is the kid?" Myka asked softly.

"13 years, not completely sure. No birth certificate or name of parents. Was found when he was 9 years old on the side of the road by a man who wanted to keep his identity a secret. The man dropped the kid at the nearest orphanage and they never heard from him again."

"That is terrible." Helena whispered. "To be abandoned in such a way."

"Tell me about it. I have three kids and I would never be capable of leaving one of them on the side of the road." Detective Morgan frowned. "Still, the kid needs protection until the trial and they are looking for someone to take him."

"The kid is still here?" Myka asked curiously.

"Yeah, he is right in that room." he pointed them towards it. "Now, I'm being nice and sharing with you two. I expect the same cordial treatment in return."

"Of course Detective Morgan." Helena smiled warmly at him. "We would just like to ask him if he is aware of other dangerous places. That way we have something to say to our superior. I am aware you must know how they can be."

"Trust me lady, I know." he chuckled. "Booth!" he yelled to an officer who quickly came out of the room. "Let these agents talk to the kid."

"Yes sir." Officer Booth nodded while giving the two agents space to enter.

When the two women entered they smiled sadly at the sight in front of them. A boy no older than 13 years old, with brown hair and pale skin, was silently reading an old-looking book. Now, the two women themselves were avid readers and understood many things about finding solace in a good book.

"Hi." Myka broke the silence and approached a sullen looking boy. "My name is Myka Bering and I'm a secret agent." she showed him his I.D. "And this is my partner..."

"Helena Wells." the boy said and looked up at them with a warm smile on his face. "Hello, my name is Henry Daniel Swan-Mills and it's about time the two of you showed up."

"How do you know who I am?" Helena asked carefully.

"And were you expecting us?" Myka asked just as confused as Helena was.

"I know who you both are." he replied while putting his book to the side. "And I have been waiting for the two of you to come find me for a while now."

"Find you?" Myka asked completely baffled. _What the hell is happening here?_

"Do you not work for the Warehouse?" he asked them seriously. "A place where you can place magical objects found in this realm?"

"Excuse me?" Helena asked again. _Magical objects, this realm, the Warehouse._ "How do you know about the Warehouse?"

"And magical objects?" Myka added to Helena's question.

"Sorry, I forgot you call them Artifacts." he laughed softly. "Obviously I read about it in my book."

"That must be the artifact." Helena realized. "Do you have a neutralizer?"

"I do." Myka said while taking the bag out.

"That won't work." Henry told them while standing up. "Although this is similar to your Artifacts, this book is completely magical, made in another realm and hence its magic can't be neutralized."

"Doesn't hurt trying." Myka murmured while placing the book inside the bag. And, as the kid had said nothing happened. "Ok kid, you obviously know some stuff that we don't so you better start explaining to us what is happening."

"You will not believe me." Henry said while sitting down.

"I have seen many things during my life, I am a personification of something that should not be real." Helena smiled warmly at him. "You should give us a chance and then pass your judgment."

"I was not born in this realm." he started. "That's why I have no birth certificate and I was found in the middle of the road. I traveled here from another land called the Enchanted Forest. I was a prince there and I had parents who loved me very much." Henry smiled sadly. "But we were in danger from a terrible Curse, one that my mothers refused to tell me about and until recently I was able to fully understand."

"A Curse?" Myka asked baffled. _This sounds just like a fairytale._

"Yes, a Dark Curse, meant to take away everyone's happy endings. Send them to a horrible land where they would forget who they were and live under the rule of the caster of the Curse."

"And who cast this Curse?" Helena asked him.

"Snow White." Henry whispered darkly.

"Snow White? You mean the one with the seven dwarves?" Myka asked out of her mind. _This is insane, this kid has gone through many horrible things and he is now trying to justify them through a fabricated and well thought story._ "Listen Henry..." she started.

"I know what you will say." Henry said disappointed. "That I'm making this up because I'm an orphan and I'm just lonely. But I'm not." he promised them. "What I'm telling you is real."

"Ok, so if it's real where did all these people go to?"

"They are in this realm." Henry said excitedly. "They are in a town called Storybrooke in Maine."

"There is not a place in Maine called Storybrooke." Myka smiled sadly.

"It won't be on your maps and it's not meant to be found by people without magic or who are not from the Enchanted Forest!" he said exasperated. "It's all part of the Curse."

"Then how do you expect us to believe you about this town if there is no way for you to prove us of its existence?" Helena asked softly.

"Because there is!" Henry promised while taking the book out of his hand. "This book..." he started while opening it in front of the two women. "Contains the stories of all the people of the Enchanted Forest, what happened there and how Snow White cast the Dark Curse. And..." he pointed at a page and noticed how the two women's eyes opened in shock. "It also told me that you were coming to get me and take me back."

"Well would you look at that." Helena chuckled softly when she saw in the book a picture of Myka and her on their car, the words they had told each other written clearly and without mistake.

"This is impossible..." Myka whispered while looking at Henry again. "This just happened a few minutes ago."

"Everything is possible when it comes to magic." Henry smiled happily at them. "Now that you believe me." he took a bag from his closet and stood up in front of them. "When will we be ready to go?"

"Henry..." Myka started. "We can't just take you, even if what you are saying is true."

"Why?"

"Because you belong to the State." the brunette said softly. "And you will be placed under protection, where they will want to keep you safe until the trial."

"Then you two can offer to protect me and the place you can take me is Storybrooke!" Henry said excitedly.

"We are not that kind of agents." Helena mumbled.

"You are not exactly Secret Service agents." he looked knowingly at them. "Soon you will get a call from Mrs. Frederic telling you to keep me safe."

"Again, how do you know so much about the Warehouse and how it works?" Myka was honestly baffled.

"Because the book told me so." he repeated. "If you would have read everything then you would know."

"Ok, so what happens after we take you to Storybrooke. What does the book say?"

"Nothing... The last page has the three of us in a car passing through the Storybrooke sign."

"That is convenient." Helena mumbled mostly to herself and was going to add something else when their Farnsworth started to ring. "This is starting to become scary."

"You have no idea." Myka returned Helena's sentiments and stood next to her so they could see who was calling them.

"That's the Farnsworth?!" Henry asked excitedly. "The artifact that the Warehouse invented so all agents can communicate with each other without things like singal or satellites interfering?"

Helena nodded in silent confirmation.

"That's so cool." Henry beamed while quietly staying behind the two agents.

"Mrs. Frederic..." Myka greeted her when they saw the older woman on the other side.

"Agent Bering, Agent Wells, Mister Mills."

"Hello!" Henry winked at them and sat down on his bed.

"I hope you are taking good care of Mister Mills and have listened to everything he has to say?"

"We did." Myka said. "And we don't know what to think of it."

"There is nothing to think or consider. You saw the pictures, you have seen everything is unfolding just as the book predicted."

"So are you telling us that the child in front of us belongs to another realm? As in a magical realm?" Helena asked baffled.

"Yes." Mrs. Frederic said softly. "This is the reason why we chose you two to take this mission and not agent Lattimer and Jinks. You two are the best agents we have and it is paramount we get Mister Mills safely back to Storybrooke."

"Does the presence of this town affect us?" Myka asked knowingly.

"Immensely. The amount of magical objects that cannot be neutralized has increased and all of that happened when Snow White started the Curse. You see, they do not belong in our realm so our land is negatively reacting by forcing magic out of the small town."

"That sounds complicated and confusing." Henry said.

"It is." Mrs. Frederic acknowledged. "Which is why I am now placing you two with the responsibility of taking and aiding Mister Mills in anything he needs to break this Curse. The moment he does so they will return back to the Enchanted Forest."

"Understood." Myka whispered still in shock by this whole conversation.

"I have already cleared it with the Boston PD and they are aware you are taking Mister Mills under protective custody. Now, let me tell you to be careful when arriving in Storybrooke. Mister Mills will explain things better to you on your way there." Mrs. Frederic said. "But don't trust anyone there, specially Snow White." she warned them. "Now go, it will be better for you to arrive at Storybrooke at night so you can accommodate and prepare yourselves."

"Yes ma'am." Myka replied and immediately the Farnsworth turned off. She looked at Helena. "Raincheck on going to downtown?"

Helena chuckled softly. "I believe we have other priorities now." she looked at Henry. "And for what I can see I imagine you are all packed and ready?"

Henry nodded in confirmation and smiled warmly at them. "Thank you." he whispered to them. "For agreeing to do this and for taking me back. I know this must not be comfortable for you two."

"Even if Mrs. Frederic wouldn't have called we would have stayed until we made sure you were alright." Myka promised him. "Now let's talk with Detective Morgan and head out before it's too late." the brunette whispered and could already imagine the small fight they would have with the Boston PD detective.

SQSQSQSQ

"Now let me get this straight." Myka said while driving towards Maine with Helena next to her and Henry on the backseat. "Snow White cast the Dark Curse because she wanted revenge? I thought she was one of the good guys."

"She was." Henry explained to them. "But her heart darkened and she was later deceived by the Queen of Hearts, which in turn made her darker and eviler. No one liked her and her kingdom was on the brink of collapse."

"But if she was the Queen how did she get stopped?" Helena asked.

"Her daughter, Princess Emma, was told she would have to marry a man she didn't love, Prince Killian of the Underwater Kingdom, in order to get more troops for the White Kingdom."

"Typical." Helena huffed. "Women not being allowed to marry out of love."

"Anyway, she ran away instead of staying and on his way to the Dark Forest she met the Evil Queen, who was presumed to be death many years ago." Henry smiled sadly. "And they fell in love."

"Wait, so the Evil Queen fell in love with Princess Emma?" Myka asked surprised.

"Remember, the people that we are told are the good or bad guys sometimes are not." Henry reminded her. "And yes, they fell in love because they shared the most powerful of bonds, Truest Love."

"I thought True Love was the most powerful magic of all." Helena said.

"Yes, but Truest Love can literally create magic. It allowed the Evil Queen and Princess Emma to create an heir to their kingdom. A boy."

"You are that heir." Myka smiled sadly at him. "You are the son of the Evil Queen and Princess Emma."

"They were known as Queen Regina and Queen Emma." he grimaced. "But it wasn't easy for them to stop Snow White and the Queen of Hearts. They used the help of knights, magical being and the Gold Kingdom to fight and capture Snow White, the Queen of Hearts and the Dark Curse."

"So if they were captured how did the Curse still get cast?" Helena asked.

"A fairy betrayed the Blue Fairy and stole the Dark Curse while the Dark One freed Snow White and gave her said Curse."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he wanted to come to this land. No one apart from him knows why."

"Perhaps just like you he lost someone he loved and they came here." Myka hypothesized.

"That makes a lot of sense." Henry thought about it.

"So your mothers." Helena wanted to ask him something important. "Will they remember you?"

"No, they are under the Curse and don't remember anything about their past life. No one except Snow White remembers."

"Then those things are bad news for us." Myka said mostly to Helena. "We won't have the support of the local police."

"Just because we came to the town that does not mean we are aware of the Curse. We can play that card and say that Henry is under protective custody awaiting for his trial date."

"Which gives Snow White a possible date when we will leave and hence make us be seen less as a threat." Myka understood where Helena was going. "During your time in the Enchanted Forest, did she see you?"

"No, she was captured until the day of the Curse and my mom placed me in the enchanted tree before she got captured."

"That's good." Myka told them. "That means we can move around town without anyone looking weirdly at us."

"Now Henry, explain to us how you managed to get this address or even remember all of this. Because I believe you would have made your way to Storybrooke all by yourself if you knew about this Curse before."

"I just remembered everything today after touching the book. That officer that was standing outside my door gave it to me and told me to believe. In what I'm not sure, but still, the book started to shine and all of these memories came pouring back. Before I remembered my moms dying in a car accident and that is why I always knew I had been loved. It made the pain of abandonment lessen but still, it wasn't enough. But now that I understand what happened I'm angry and I want to go help them. They have been no less than 4 hours away from me and I had no idea."

"It was not your fault." Helena tried to appease him. "I believe you were given that book on the right time Henry. Who knows what would have happened if you went before all by yourself."

"I would have been probably captured by Snow White." he mumbled.

"Helena is right." Myka smiled warmly at her partner. "Now you are in a better position to help your parents and you have a plan and backup. We will not abandon you on this mission Henry."

"Myka is right." Helena promised him. "We will help you get your mothers back and end this Curse once and for all. But..." she smiled cheekily. "How do we get that Curse to end?"

"With True Love's kiss of course." he said exasperated.

"True Love's kiss?" Myka asked. "As the kiss that can wake up people from sleeping curses and all of that?"

"Yes that one." he repeated.

"Well that does not sound so hard. We can just reunite your mothers and get them to kiss." Helena said chirpily

"Because Snow White will let us do that." Myka said and Helena sunk in contempt. "I don't think it will be that easy."

"It won't be because they don't remember they love each other. Like they have to share True Love's kiss under their new memories and identities."

"So they have to fall in love with each other again?" Helena asked Henry. "That is oddly romantic."

"I know, right?" she smiled softly at Helena who blushed in return. _Interesting,_ Myka noted.

"Annoying." Henry complained. "And I'm afraid only their kiss would work because they are Truest Loves."

"Ok, makes sense." Myka said while looking at the GPS and noticing they were getting closer to the town. "Now Henry, I'm not sure you have already thought of this, but how will you approach your mothers when you see them? You must remember that to them you're just a stranger."

"I know." Henry said sadly. "And I don't know how I will do it. I mean, I used to know them really well and what they liked but now I'm not so sure."

"Well, there is nothing to lose from trying and I bet that some part of them will connect with you. No matter the Curse, the time or distance, a mother does never forget her child." Helena promised Henry. "Trust me on that."

"Ok." Henry smiled sadly at her. "Apart from the three of us no one can know about this operation. And, since you two are agents and have some gadgets we should immediately try to realize who is who. I will give you a list of my mothers' allies and that way we can know who at least will be friendly towards us."

"Noted." Helena said while smirking. "If not we can just use our Teslas and done."

"Please let's refrain from using them." Myka chuckled. "We don't want the enemy knowing we are aware of their plan or that we have guns that shoot electricity that incapacitates and makes a person forget the last minutes they just experienced."

"Snow White will not be stupid this time and expect nothing happening. The moment we arrive to town she will be suspicious of us. She was already tricked by Emma who pretended to be cursed with a forgetting potion. In fact, it was that what led to her demise and capture. So no undercover missions of any sort." Henry smiled softly. "No matter how cool or tempting Tesla's may sound."

"We'll try." Myka laughed, liking Henry more with each passing hour. "And in order to be prepared for anything, in what position do you expect Snow White to be?"

"One of absolute power, she cast the Curse because she wanted her kingdom back and to rule over all. Which position in a small town can do that? One of Mayor." Henry reasoned.

"And the Dark One?"

"Asked for another position of power. But the thing that is stopping him from taking control is that he also forgot who he was because of the Curse."

"Then that means he could be the Chief of Police, a lawyer or anything involved with the local government if Henry's suspicions about Snow White are correct." Helena filled out for him.

"Ok, then we will stay close to one another and refrain from doing anything foolish." Myka said but noticed that Henry was not paying attention to her. "Henry?"

"We are here." Henry whispered and closed his eyes, feeling the small trace of magic in this town enter his body, a long lost friend returning once again and making all his doubts and fears dissipate.

"I don't see anything." Myka was saying when she noticed the trail of trees and nothingness become a town right in front of her.

"Well would you look at that." Helena smiled happily from her seat. "This is rather exciting, don't you think?" she said to Myka who looked like she was going to faint at any moment.

"Well I'll be damned." Myka murmured when she read the sign on the side of the road. "Welcome to Storybrooke." she whispered and then looked at her fellow agent and friend. "We are here. This place is actually real."

"Indeed." Helena then grabbed Myka's hand. "Real and dangerous." she reminded her. "So whatever you do, do not try to be a hero and engage in a fight with Snow White. We are a team."

"Got it." Myka winked at her. "But just in case that happens at least I know I have my own knight in shining armor."

"Well, a Tesla and my witts will have to be included in that definition of knight since those are the only things I have with me." Helena teased her.

Myka smiled warmly at her and then turned to look at Henry who had quietly gotten out of the car to look around him She was honestly worried about him but she could only imagine what he must be feeling at being back. At being so close to her parents and yet incapable of going to them.

"I am coming mothers." Henry said determinedly and Myka and Helena noticed the change in him immediately. The insecure boy that was telling them about stories and fake fairy tales was now gone. Instead, a fierce looking young man was staring at the town around him, planning what to do and when to do it.

"Henry." Helena interrupted him. "We must go find somewhere to stay." she reminded him.

"Promise me that you will help me save them." he stared at her with fierce eyes. "That you both will help me."

"I promise you Henry I will do my best to help you get your family back." Helena vowed seriously.

"And so will I. You are part of our team now and we always help each other." she smiled softly. "We always have each other's backs."

"Good." Henry said fiercely. "Because I will not stop or leave this town until I find and save them." he then looked at the sky. "I will save you both." he whispered his promise. "Just like I promised I would many years ago."

* * *

PS: The reason why I used Myka Bering and Helena Wells from Warehouse 13 is because I needed government ages to find Henry and take him back. Of course, it couldn't just be any agent since they must believe in either the supernatural or magic. In this case Myka and Helena fit this description well. Still, just because they are characters of this story that does not mean this will turn into a Warehouse 13 fanfiction. Hence, if you haven't watched the series it doesn't matter. I'm taking a lot of liberties with the way the characters are and any thing that has to do with the show will be explained by the characters while speaking or the narrator.


	3. Breakfast, Awkwardness and a Hospital

**Author's Note:** Another update! Sadly don't get used to it because I start classes this monday and I wanted to finish the chapter before that happened. I wanted to thank you for all the follows and favorites that I have received for this story after merely uploading it a few hours ago. Hope you enjoy this chapter and reviews are always welcomed.

* * *

Last night had been restless for the three of them. Apart from the fact that they had all been questioned until late hours of the night by who Henry identified as Granny, Myka and Helena were unable to use their Farnsworth to communicate with their fellow agents. Henry had attempted to explain to them that it was the magic of Storybrooke what was blocking the device and that if they wanted to use it they would have to leave the town. Helena being Helena had not minded this much, arguing that Mrs. Frederic's orders were to take care of Henry and help him break the Curse. Myka, on the other hand, was nervous about not having a way to get backup or the help of their friends were something to happen.

Again, this was the fight Myka and Helena always had when it came to teamwork. Helena is more used to working solo and being the brains of the operation. It also happens that Myka is also used to the same thing. Hence, their two dominating personalities crash with one another. They enjoyed it of course, the competition and being able to outsmart each other. In fact, that was why Myka had asked Archie to not switch her from working with Helena. They had too much fun together. Well, that and the fact that she was starting to develop feelings for the older woman. How could she not? Helena was beautiful, charismatic, charming, intelligent and loyal (all things that Myka appreciated and looked for in a partner). The only problem was that she had never been interested in a woman before and hence had no idea of the signals one had to give or could be given to show interest. Because of this she didn't know if Helena was also interested in her or just being her usual flirty self. Although recently she had started to catch Helena staring longingly at her. Other times it was possible for her to see the admiration and appreciation in the older woman's eyes. Nevertheless Myka, being her usual perfectionist self, was terrified of making a mistake and revealing her feelings to a person who was not interested back.

"Are you ok?" she heard Henry ask her while standing next to her outside the bed inn.

"Of course." Myka smiled softly at him. "Why do you ask?"

"You were thinking too much." he smiled at her. "Too much after just waking up and planning to go get some breakfast."

"Funny." Myka deadpanned, earning herself a chuckle from him. "And shouldn't I be the one asking you if you're alright?"

"Why?"

"Because everything that happened yesterday was real." she said exasperated. "The orphanage you were living at planted marihuana. You witnessed a man being killed. Being under protective custody is not part of the plan. You are seriously in danger."

"I don't know." Henry said softly. "I mean, I feel sorry for the man who got killed, and if I think about it of course it makes me nauseous. But it's like a part of me, one that is used to seeing strong and unpleasant things like that, is dealing with what happened yesterday instead of my cursed me."

"I don't understand." Myka said helplessly.

"You must know that I come from a land following medieval traditions." he reminded her. "To us, watching a man getting killed is normal."

"But that's murder."

"For us it was justice. The people that got executed were no saints. The man that got shot yesterday was no saint either."

"So just because the man was a criminal does that mean he doesn't deserve justice?" Myka asked, somehow baffled by having this debate with a 13 year old.

"I didn't say that." Henry said condescendingly. "But isn't it ironic that your justice system protects criminals like him from being punished?

"He was murdered!"

"And so have many others and yet you don't see them getting justice." Henry appeased her. "I know it sucks, but that's just the truth. Your justice system chooses who deserves justice and who doesn't."

"That's a very pessimistic view of justice." Myka said softly.

"But not completely false and very mature for a boy of your age." Helena said from behind them and the two of them turned around. "I am sorry for scaring you. But you two looked so deep in thought that I did not want to interrupt you."

Henry looked down pensively.

"Henry, what are you not telling us?" she asked him softly, knowing from experience how a person with a big secret looked like.

"In order for this mission to succeed we can't have secrets between us." Myka reminded him.

"I know that." he replied while staring at them while taking a deep breath. "You must know how impossible it must be for a child to be born out of two women."

"But it was magic."

"Even that kind of magic has its limits. In my case, it was a combination of my mothers' powers and their Truest Love. Because of that, I was special." he chuckled. "Instead of the usual 9 months of pregnancy I was born in 4."

"That is incredible." Helena said in complete awe. "So that means you develop faster than other children." she understood immediately what this was about. "How old are you biologically?"

"13 years old." he whispered. "But emotionally and psychologically I'm 16."

"That must be very hard for you." she understood far too well.

"It wasn't until now." he smiled. "My mothers blessed me with the curse since my cursed identity was in match with my biological age. Up until yesterday I was a normal 13 year old orphan kid."

"Still, it must be hard to go from that to where you're now." Myka smiled sadly at him.

"It's necessary." he said softly. "My mothers placed their happiness before mine and look what that got them: Years of living under a curse without each other. Now it's my turn to help them."

"But even if you are just 16 you are way more mature than teenagers with that same age." Helena said to him.

"And I can't explain that." Henry confessed to her. "I just know what to say and how to say it. It's like magic." he chuckled. "Which I wouldn't be surprised were the reason for me being like this."

"It's helpful." Myka smiled at him. "And since you trusted me I will do the same. I'm worried." she admitted to him. "I mean, you said that Granny was one of your mothers' supporters and she almost didn't give us a room." she whispered to him. "They are terrified of Snow White and that means they are capable of doing anything to avoid her wrath."

"Which is why we can only trust each other." Helena said while grabbing her shoulder and squeezing tightly. "Remember we agreed on acting nonchalantly about being here. We have no idea that it is strange for new people to arrive to town. Of course someone working for Snow White will see us at the diner and inform her right away. Before that occurs we must see who is here and cross reference with their Enchanted Forest identities." she finished. "And I did not just say that seriously."

"You did." Henry smirked at her and took out of his pocket two pieces of paper with many names written on them. "The people on the right are supporters of my mothers, the ones in the middle are neutral and the ones on the left are against them."

"There were people against them? I thought they were good rulers?" Myka asked.

"They are." Henry defended them. "But they supported many things that the other kingdoms did not. For example, they prohibited the killing of magical creatures. Werewolves are magical creatures." he reasoned. "Fairies are magical creatures. Before my mothers came to power all magical beings were in danger of being hunted down and killed."

"And why did the other kingdoms want to kill them?"

"They believed magical creatures were an abomination and that one day they would kill all humans." Henry retorted. "Don't tell me that doesn't sound familiar to you."

"Too much." Myka agreed with him. "Ok, so we go, blend in, eat and await until Snow White meets us." she looked at Henry. "Listen, I know you must have family and friends here, but whatever you do you can't make Snow White see that you recognize them. In fact, you must act as if you're traumatized. After all you just witnessed a horrible murder and children here are not used to seeing those things."

"Understood." Henry said while pacing from side to side, ready to begin. "Now are we good to go?" he said while walking towards the diner.

"Yes Henry." Helena chuckled softly and stopped Myka before she followed Henry. "I did not want to ask him this but will it always be like that for him, his body and mind out of sync?"

"I don't know Helena." Myka whispered, also concerned. "If he was born out of good magic I don't think that magic would be capable of killing him or getting him insane, right?" she asked.

"I do not know. And until we break this Curse no one will." Helena said dejectedly. "We keep him safe." she added softly.

Myka understood the message immediately. Helena liked this kid and she was afraid of something happening to him just like it did to her own daughter. They would not let that happen again. "We keep him safe." she squeezed her hand and followed after Henry.

The moment the two women caught up with Henry they noticed him standing outside the diner, his eyes set up on a woman of olive skin and black hair. He had tears in his eyes and was covertly trying to cover them with his hands. Approaching him quickly, Helena checked him and then turned to face the woman that had awoken so many emotions in the boy/teenager. She couldn't deny that the woman was beautiful, very well placed and with kind yet tired eyes. Looking around the place Helena noticed that she was sitting all by herself in a table, quietly reading a book while eating her breakfast. It was obvious, the resemblance between Henry and her. That much was clear and she hoped Snow White would not see it or pretend she did not.

"Is that her?" Myka whispered to him while getting his attention.

"That's her." he smiled sadly. "That's my mom. Regina." he looked at the two agents and apologized for crying. "You told me to not bring attention to us and here I am crying."

"Don't worry Henry, in this case it is completely normal to get emotional. Besides, crying can be part of experiencing a traumatic event as well." Helena winked at him and got a small chuckle out of him. "Now let us go in and sit down."

Nodding in confirmation the three of them entered the diner and if they wanted to quietly make it to their table they were mistaken in believing so. A bell on top of the door interrupted the quietness of the establishment and everyone inside turned to stare at the people that just arrived. Boredness became curiosity and now everyone was staring at the three of them as if no one new had ever come to their town. Hearing the whispers emanating from different tables, Myka took notice of the way Regina was staring at them, her eyes not leaving Henry. She smiled softly after seeing that what Helena had told Henry was the truth: A deep part of Regina's soul had recognized Henry and was now crashing with her Cursed alter ego.

"Someone has not stopped staring at you since we came in." Helena whispered at Henry who noticed how Regina was still looking at them. When the woman realized that she had been discovered she focused on her book.

"Does that mean she remembers me?" Henry asked brightly. "You said a parent never forgets their child."

"They don't." Helena smiled sadly. "But now we need to prove to her that her instinct is correct and that what she knows and believes of herself is not true."

"Hello!" a younger brunette woman with blue eyes interrupted their conversation while smiling brightly at them. "What can I get for you today?"

"Scrambled eggs and some warm milk with coffee for the two of us." Myka ordered knowing what Helena wanted. "What about you Henry?"

The moment the name of Henry came out of Myka's mouth they noticed a flicker of recognition pass through the waitress' eyes. It instantly disappeared and instead a cordial smile was given to the boy.

"Pancakes with chocolate milk." he told the woman while staring intently at the agents.

'"Coming right up!" the woman hopped back to the kitchen.

"You all saw that, right?" Henry asked them.

"We did." Myka confirmed to him. "Who was she?"

"Her name was Red and she was like my mother Emma's mother. To me she was more like an aunt, a very cool aunt."

"But if she is as old as Snow White then why does she look like that?" Helena asked curiously.

"Really, you are asking her secrets of eternal youth while you yourself have your own?" Myka winked at her and Helena blushed while looking down. _Interesting._

"She's a werewolf and they age very slowly. Granny is a werewolf as well, which is why she's still alive after all this time." Henry looked at Helena. "And how old are you supposed to be?"

"A lady never reveals her age dear." Helena winked at him, making Henry blush.

 _Another fan for Helena,_ Myka chuckled to herself while keeping an eye on Regina and the door. They were not here just for coffee and she was almost certain that soon enough the mayor would make an appearance.

"Here you go." Red returned with their coffees and then breakfast. "Hope you enjoy." she gave them one last smile while going to Regina's table.

"Look, they talk." Helena motioned towards the two brunettes who were smiling softly at one another.

"They were close since Red decided to leave the White Kingdom and join the rebellion." Henry whispered while again noticing Regina staring at him. He raised a hand to say hi and saw the woman looking down embarrassed but slowly returning the gesture. "My mother is different."

"What do you mean?" Myka asked him. "I mean, you haven't even talked to her yet."

"And that's the difference. My mother wouldn't have hesitated in approaching us to ask who we were. Instead, she is shyly looking at us and refusing to be noticed." Henry explained to her. "I mean, she was the Evil Queen for a reason and that reason was not for blushing when someone says hi to them."

"That does make sense." Helena mussed. "Perhaps it is part of the Curse. To be their un-happiest and most miserable version of themselves."

Before any of them could answer the door of the diner chimed and inside came Snow White. It was easy for the two agents who didn't know the woman to realize who she was because of the way she walked towards their table. There was an air of superiority and hesitation in her step, almost as if she wanted to show who was in charge and yet fearing their presence.

"Well hello there." the woman smiled evilly at them. "My name is Mary Blanchard and I'm the Mayor of Storybrooke."

"Hello." Helena smiled at her while extending and shaking hands. "My name is Helena Wells and this is my partner Myka Bering."

"And is this your son then?" the woman looked at Henry who was trying his hardest to not jump the table and strangle the woman.

"Our son?" Myka asked completely baffled. "You are mistaken."

"But didn't you say that you were partners?" she asked them.

"We are partners but not that kind of partners." _Not that I don't want us to be,_ Myka thought to herself. "We are Secret Service agents and we were driving aimlessly until we needed to stop and your town was the nearest."

"That is surprising. Not many people are capable of finding our town." Snow said suspiciously.

"It was almost like magic." Helena couldn't stop herself from saying. "One minute we were in the middle of the forest and the next one this town appeared. Of course that is complete bollocks since things like that simply do not happen."

"Indeed." Snow added darkly. "About the boy with you two. Who is he?"

"Not that it concerns you Mayor, but he is under our custody and will remain so until the time comes." Myka said protectively.

"This is my town and whatever happens in this town is my business and concerns me." she stood up close to Myka who refused to back down.

"Mayor Blanchard." Regina interrupted them. "I apologize but you have a meeting in 15 minutes and if you don't order your coffee now you will not make it back in time."

"Of course." Snow separated from Myka who kept on looking at Snow. "I was merely curious. Wouldn't want to call your superior officer and realize that there are no agents Helena Wells or Myka Bering."

"You will realize that our credentials and information check." Helena tried to appease the situation. "You must forgive my partner Myka. She is very protective of children and Henry just went through a very traumatic experience not too many days ago."

The moment the name Henry was said Regina threw her things to the floor. Without thinking about it Henry immediately got up and started to help her mother who was now looking at him with surprise and intrigue.

"Of course, I understand." Snow smiled patronizingly.

"We were planning on speaking to you the moment we were done with our breakfast." Helena continued explaining. "Henry had not eaten and he was starving."

"Of course." Snow said while looking at Henry. "Talk with Regina about scheduling an appointment with myself and my Chief of Police. Then we will talk."

"Thank you for being so willing to help us."

"You're welcome." Snow smiled at them. It was not an encouraging smile. "Everything we can do to make your temporary stay comfortable don't hesitate to ask me." she looked at Regina who was still picking her things from the floor. "I honestly don't know why I keep you as my assistant if you are a complete and utter mess." she grabbed the coffee from Red. "I want to see you in the office as soon as you are done scheduling the appointment with agents Wells and Bering." she said to Regina who nodded. "Good day." she finished and left the diner.

The moment Snow left people started to talk again between one another. Myka just stared at Helena who was smiling teasingly at her. Of course she would take the first opportunity to mock her for her lack of composure and control. _But the woman had been so terribly rude that she couldn't stop herself from not fighting back._

"Thank you." they heard Regina say to a happy-looking Henry who was now giving the woman his biggest smile. "For helping me pick up my things."

"You're welcome." he said to her while giving her his hand to stand up. The moment their hands made contact Henry felt again that sublime magic entering his body. Looking at his mother he could see that she had experienced the same thing. He didn't want to let her leave. "Take a seat with us." he motioned towards their table.

Regina, being unlike her usual self, sat down with the three strangers and stared at them.

"These are agents Wells and Bering." Henry introduced them to Regina. "And this is..." he almost said her mother's name but stopped himself.

"Bering and Wells." Myka corrected him.

"Regina Mills." she said while taking a small book out of her purse. "I apologize for bringing this up but I believe you asked Mayor Blanchard for an appointment?"

"Yes we did." Myka muttered angrily. "That woman was so rude. Is she always like that?" she asked Regina who looked up, surprised at being asked a question.

"Usually." she whispered. "No one really stands up to her."

"And why is that?" Henry asked her.

"Because she is the Mayor and she has the most power in this town."

"But if no one likes her then how is she mayor?"

"I have no idea." Regina answered after a while. "I just remember that she has been mayor for a long time and that no one runs against her."

"Interesting." Helena mussed to herself. "And tell me dear." she smirked when Regina blushed. _Adorable and so unlike the Evil Queen one tends to think about._ "Who is this Chief of Police that she mentioned would be in the meeting as well?

"That would be Anthony McDouglas." she pointed towards a police cruiser from where a man of almost 40 years old was getting down. "He is a really nice and friendly man."

"And that kind of man works for Mayor Blanchard?" Myka asked shocked.

"Yeah, he does everything the mayor asks of him." Regina whispered conspiratorially.

 _My mother gossiping like a peasant?_ Henry asked himself while smirking. _The moment she remembers this she will be so pissed._

"Everything?" Myka asked while looking at Helena who immediately understood what Regina was implying.

"Yes." Regina looked at Henry who was smiling softly at her. "I'm afraid I must go now." she looked at the clock on the wall. "Your appointment with Mayor Blanchard is scheduled at 2pm. I advise you to be on time."

"Of course, wouldn't want to make her Majesty wait." Henry muttered to himself.

Regina chuckled. "Indeed." she finished and left them alone at their table.

"So that was very interesting." Helena said while looking at Henry. "How do you feel?"

"Better. She is different but she is still my mother." he smiled at them. "And I know she felt something when we touched hands. I could see it in her eyes."

"She was looking a lot at you and she accepted your invitation to sit down with us." Myka agreed with him. "Those are positive things Henry. It means she's willing to talk to you."

"Now the only thing we need to do is find my mother Emma and Operation Cobra can start."

"Operation Cobra?" the two agents asked at the same time.

"If we want to talk about it without fearing someone hearing us we have to give our mission a codename. And it has to be something that no one would suspect."

"Ok, makes sense." Myka agreed. "So where do you think Emma could be?"

"I don't know." Henry whispered. "The last thing the book said was that she got injured after taking me to the wardrobe."

"What does it say about her wound being treated?" Helena asked.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Because based on what you have told us already, only the people that were near the area during the Curse were transported here, correct?" she asked Henry who nodded. "So, that means that although time got reset and they were given new identities, their appearance and physicality remained the same."

"Which means that Emma is still injured somewhere in the town." Myka finished for Helena who nodded.

"Then we need to find her!" Henry screamed while immediately getting the attention of the other people at the diner.

"Relax Henry." Helena whispered. "We need to be smart about this. Do you think that Snow is silly enough to not have placed some protection or spies near Emma? If we go straight to the source then she will suspect we are aware something is wrong." she smiled at Henry while grabbing a knife. "We need to be smart about this." Helena winked at Henry while using the knife to cut her palm open.

"Oh my God!" Myka screamed when she saw Helena's bloodied hand. "What the hell did you just do?!" she hissed at her partner.

"Improvise." the older woman winced. "Now instead of scolding me go ahead and ask one of these morons where the hospital is."

"You're such a badass." Henry said in complete awe.

"Well do not do this to yourself Henry." Helena immediately stopped him from doing something stupid.

"Does someone know where the nearest hospital is?" Myka asked the room while using a towel Red got for her. "Thank you." she said to the waitress who nodded.

"There is one a few minutes from here if you take a right at the end of the road. You keep going straight and it's right there. You can't miss it." Red instructed them. "I hope your hand is alright."

"Thank you darling." Helena hissed when Myka placed the towel in her hand. "That hurts."

"You should have thought it better before cutting your palm open."

"Only way to have a good enough reason to go the hospital. While they are taking a look at my hand you two can go sneak a look around."

"And what if they find us and ask us questions?"

"Then you two are looking for me but you got lost. No one expects the new people in town to know where everything is."

"Although I don't like this plan I must admit that it is rather clever." Myka smiled warmly at Helena.

"Thank you dear." she winked at Myka. "Now, my knight in shining armor, take me to the hospital."

SQSQSQSQSQ

"So you have to keep these bandages around your palm to prevent your wound from getting infected." a man named Dr. Whale was telling them. "You are rather lucky that the cut was so superficial. You'll have to come back in a week for me to take them off or schedule an appointment with your usual doctor if you will leave town."

"Thank you doctor." Myka said to the man while watching him leave.

The moment the three of them arrived at the hospital they immediately took Helena to a room to get checked. Apparently one good thing about small towns was that the waiting times were not long. Henry, meanwhile, had immediately left to look at the rooms or some of the nurses records. Myka was not sure how he was going to pull that off but worst case scenario was that they would bring him to then. And, she was also not that concerned about that because Helena was an expert at inventing excuses.

"Have you heard anything from Henry?" Helena asked her after bidding the doctor farewell.

"No, which means he hasn't been caught yet." Myka winked at Helena. "This has been a very interesting morning."

"Whatever do you mean?" Helena didn't look at her.

"You know what I mean." Myka touched the older woman's hand. "You are afraid of needles."

"Am not. I am a scientist! It would be ridiculous for me to be scared of such things."

"Of course." the younger brunette chuckled. "Silly me."

"I believe that means you will have to make it up to me." Helena winked at Myka.

"What do you mean?" Myka asked confused. _Are we still having the same conversation?_

"We both know you are very well aware of what I mean." Helena responded seriously.

Myka was going to answer her but she shut up the moment the door to Helena's room burst open. In front of them was a frantic looking Henry, who had a big smile on his face. He had succeeded. Somehow he had found Emma.

"She's here!" he whispered excitedly. "You were right Helena, she's actually here."

"Why do you sound so surprised? I am a genius and hence I rarely make mistakes."

"And you are also very humble." Myka teased her. She focused on Henry. "Did you go see her."

"Not yet. I wanted to check how you were." he pointed towards Helena's hand. "If you're ok then perhaps you two won't mind coming with me." he added the last part softly.

"I am alright." Helena said while standing up. "And ready for some more mischief." she winked at him.

"She's not far from here." he pointed them towards an elevator next to their room. "And I read that today a group of volunteers is meant to come to the hospital and check on the undocumented patients, to keep them company. Doctors and nurses will be confused as to who we are and that we are not actually volunteers."

"I think you're competing for the position of genius with Helena right now." Myka complimented him. "That is a brilliant plan."

"I have my moments." Henry joked with them. "Now we turn here." he moved to a quieter part of the hospital. "All the people that are here have not been identified or found by their relatives."

"And can't they tell them who they are?" Myka asked.

"I am afraid not dear." because the moment the three of them arrived at the room of Jane Doe they noticed all the tubes and machines connected to her.

"This is my mother." Henry whispered while grabbing her hand softly. "Emma." he said while kissing her forehead, hoping that something would happen.

When the monitor started to beat faster the three people in the room immediately jumped and stared at each other with hopeful looks. When the frantic beating slowed down and nothing happened the three of them were sporting the same disappointed look.

"Henry?" they heard a familiar voice say and soon enough saw Regina entering the room with a flower on her hand. "And agents Wells and Bering. What are you doing here?"

"Bering and Wells." Myka couldn't stop herself from correcting. "And we're sorry. Helena cut her hand at the diner and we had to come to the hospital. In the middle of filling out paperwork and checking her wound we lost sight of Henry. Turns out he was here all by himself."

"I'm sorry." Henry apologized while smiling softly. _Even when they're not aware of who they are they try to stay close to one another._

"I'm sorry to hear that." Regina said to Helena. "Hope it wasn't anything too bad?"

"I will live." Helena teased her. "And how come you are here Miss Mills, if you do not mind indulging the curiosity of an agent?"

"I volunteer at the hospital every afternoon." she smiled softly at them. "These people have no one around, so why not share my time with them?"

"That is very kind of you." Helena smiled warmly. _Up until now Henry's mothers seemed to be very decent human beings. Even when cursed._

"Do you know who she is?" Henry asked Regina.

"No one does. One day I was doing my usual rounds and she was just here in this room. Since then I always try to stop here and talk to her."

"What do you say to her?"

"Not very much." Regina looked embarrassed but still answered Henry's question. "I tell her about the town and the people in it."

"So you don't tell her about yourself? Like does she know your name?" Henry kept on asking her with a plan in mind already.

"Not really. I mean, nothing interesting happens in my life so why should I bore her with it?"

"Well, perhaps she could get to know you by doing so? Isn't it better to talk with a person you know than a complete stranger?"

"I don't think that principle applies in this case." the brunette woman smiled sadly. "It's not like she will answer me back."

"Who knows..." Henry shrugged. "You have nothing to lose if you do share." he gave her a warm smile. "I'm getting tired and we should move before someone scolds us for being in the wrong floor." he grabbed Regina's hand sweetly. "It was nice to see you again Regina."

"Likewise Henry." Regina stuttered completely surprised.

"See you soon." Myka said while smiling at Henry. _The kid's got game and he knows it._

"Of course." she replied. "I will mention to Mayor Blanchard that I saw you at the hospital. That way she'll reschedule your meeting."

"Thank you for doing that." Helena thanked her and with one last look at the room the three of them left the two women alone.

"If I didn't believe in fate before then I stand corrected." Myka told them as soon as they were in the elevator. "Because somehow your mothers keep finding each other. I mean, what are the odds of that happening?"

"They are Truest Loves, they are meant to be together." Henry replied proudly.

"Or it is all a sick strategy done by Snow White." she looked at the two of them. "She is well aware of where Emma has been and still allows Regina to volunteer and even be in the same room as her. That to me is just plainly evil and pervasive. Like she enjoys watching their unhappiness. And she is the mother of one of them. How could she be so cold and heartless towards her own daughter?!"

"Her heart is too dark." Henry explained to her. "During her time in the Enchanted Forest she did many horrible things. Because of that her view of what is good or wrong has been eliminated. Instead, the only thing she now cares about is what works for her."

"And that right now is having Emma and Regina separated." Myka understood what Henry was saying. "I never thought I would say this but Snow White is truly evil."

"Indeed." Helena smirked. "There goes all the dreams and hopes created by Disney and fairytales."

"Bummer." Myka replied. "Just because I told you that I enjoy them that does not mean I am not aware of how biased they are."

"You are even worse than me." Henry joked with them. "But I'm glad you're here to help me and keep me from storming Snow White's place to either demand for answers or hurt her. Bad."

"I know you're angry." Myka started. "And that she deserves to pay for what she did. But killing her is not the answer."

"That's what my mothers should have done when they had the chance. Instead they placed her in a dungeon."

"Your mothers knew that to take her life would only cause them pain, specially towards Emma. It does not matter what a mother can do to their child, but just like a child will always be a child, a mother always stays a mother."

"Of course I know that." Henry huffed. "That's what upsets me as well. That even if I'm capable of actually doing something I can't do it because I know it could hurt my mother."

"And from now forward things will become even more complicated." Myka warned him. "You do understand that the moment you entered this town you started a chain reaction that ends with your mothers breaking the Curse. Your life, and all of their lives, will never be the same."

"I understand that." Henry said angrily. "It's just that thinking about doing something and now actually doing it is terrifying. I can't fail them. I mean, you saw how much they gave up for me."

"They did so because they love you." Helena said to him. "Besides, to put a child over themselves is something every parent does easily and without hesitation." she then remembered Snow. "But sometimes there are others like Snow White who are just selfish and only care about their happiness."

"I think I get what you mean." Henry looked down. "And I apologize for screaming at you." he said to Myka. "I just don't want to see them living like this; longing for the other and yet incapable of being together."

"I can understand that Henry." Myka smiled softly to him. "And that's why we are staying here with you, helping you do what is best for the success of Operation Cobra."

"And cheers to that." Helena smirked at the two of them while raising an imaginary glass. "Do not leave me with my glass raised."

"Imaginary." Myka whispered to Henry who chuckled.

"The intention is what counts." she mocked the two of them. "Besides, after everything we have seen here, it could be possible that a glass magically appears in my hand. Or maybe not." she shrugged while bumping fists with Henry and Myka who had rolled their eyes.

"This is what I have to live with every day." she joked with Henry.

"And you're lucky." he whispered back knowingly while getting closer to Helena.

"I am." Myka whispered to herself.

SQSQSQSQ

"So this is a little awkward." Regina started to say while grabbing a chair. "But I get the strange feeling that this is what I'm supposed to do, right?" she looked at the sleeping woman in front of her. "What are you doing Regina?" she whispered to herself. "Talking to a woman that can't probably hear anything you say."

 _And yet something deep inside of me tells me that Henry's suggestion was a good one._

"So nothing interesting happened again, well apart from the arrival of Henry and the two agents." she chuckled. "Mayor Blanchard is so upset about them being here because no one ever comes to the town. I think she is scared. I don't know why she should be but it is obvious that she is. And that little boy, Henry, there is something about him that makes me want to see him, talk to him. I don't know if this is me finally losing it or if there is something else happening here." she took a look at the blonde woman. "Sometimes I envy you, being asleep without having to worry about life or what is happening around you." she moved forward to place herself closer to the bed. "But ever since that boy got to this town I felt a part of me react towards him, like the depths of my soul recognized him."

She chuckled to herself while relaxing. Perhaps this was not doing anything for the blonde woman in the bed but it was certainly helping her feel better.

"I don't socialize much and I don't have many friends. Sometimes I go and have some drinks with Ruby and her friends but apart from that my life is terribly boring. I work as an assistant for Mayor Blanchard and I hate it. I hate it and yet I can't quit. It is exhausting and she mistreats me all the time. Tell me then why do I stay? Am I a masochist or just a person with very low self-esteem?" she closed her eyes and focused on not crying. "I look at myself in the mirror everyday before going to the diner and I tell myself 'today will be the day you change Regina. Today will be a better day.' and yet nothing changes." she finished and the moment she did she felt a strong grip on her hand.

Looking up in shock at the movement that came from the bed, she noticed how strongly the blonde woman was crushing her hand, almost as if attempting to console her with the gesture. She waited for a couple of seconds for something else to happen, but the moment the hand holding hers loosened up she ran towards the nurse's station and explained to them what had happened. One nurse came with her and checked the blonde's vitals, which showed no signs of change and hence made the nurse smile apologetically at her. Nevertheless, Regina was sure of what she had just seen and that it was not a dream or part of her imagination. Watching until the nurse left the room, Regina approached the bed again and pushed some of the blonde woman's hair to the back of her ears. She was unconsciously taking longer than what is usually expected between strangers (if that was even a thing strangers did?) but she honestly didn't care. Right now her heart was telling her to caress the woman's face and she was going to do so.

"I'm sorry Regina but it's time for you volunteers to go." the same nurse came back to get her and smiled warmly at them. "It's so nice that she has at least someone that comes to see her. I know you don't believe they can hear us but I still think they do."

"Perhaps today I'm a believer, Jasmin." Regina mumbled mostly to herself. "Because what just happened inside that room was not a figment of my imagination." she told herself determinedly.


	4. Breakfast, Meetings and a Kiss

**Author's Note:** So I lied? Another super long update! I hope you all like this chapter and that it gives you the chills I had while writing it. I promise you things will get even more interesting. Reviews are always welcomed!

* * *

 **In Storybrooke, Maine**

"Madam Mayor?" a sullen looking woman knocked on her door.

"Come in." Snow said bored while giving permission to her spy to sit. "Did you follow them?"

"I did as you asked." she said while taking some photos out of her purse. "They stayed at the diner until one of the agents cut her hand open. Went to the hospital where she got stitches and immediately returned to the bed-inn."

"So no snooping around or looking suspicious?" Snow asked her. _She had no idea of how the Curse worked and hence she was not sure if a person from this world could find Storybrooke. Sadly for her there was only one other person in town who knew, well two actually. But none of them remembered._

"No." Tauriel replied while shifting uncomfortably. _First she was told to keep tabs on Regina, Snow's assistant. Then to keep watch at a Jane Doe in the hospital and now the new strangers. She knew that something was not right but it wasn't her business to ask questions._

"Keep following them and report back to me everything they do." Snow said unconvinced and dismissed the woman.

Perhaps it was all a big coincidence. The presence of these two women and that child in Storybrooke an honest mistake that would be solved the moment they left. She had made some calls and immediately found that Agents Wells and Bering were not lying about the boy or the crime he had witnessed in Boston. These news appeased her a little, the sudden nervousness of having her little bubble of isolation and control disrupted making her paranoid. But she was not going to make the same mistake she did with the Evil Queen and her daughter. She was not going to underestimate her enemy, and if that meant having a former Elite Army guard follow them then that was a small price to pay She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but since she was not a witch or had any magic of her own she had no knowledge of the mechanics of the Curse. She had been so desperate for a change and for a new opportunity to rule that it didn't take the Dark One much time to convince her. In fact, it had all been very sudden.

 _(Flashback)_

"So are you ready your Majesty?" the Dark One asked her a few days later from the outside of her cell. "To do your part of the deal and send us all to a new land?"

"Of course Imp." she hissed angrily. "Now release me of this cell so I can start my new reign."

"Your wish is my command." the Imp chuckled and Snow's cell dissipated. "Now we must hurry. Our forces are entering the kingdom and the guards are distracted.

"Summon me a sword and my ceremonial clothes." she said and smiled evilly when her old ragged clothes were transformed to her old monarch dress. "Now this is better." she chuckled.

"Now you look like a Queen." the Dark One smiled and when one man attacked him instantly moved his hand and plunged it to his chest, crushing his heart. "Did you take a good look at what I just did?"

Snow nodded.

"Good, because that is what you must do to your Prince Charming the moment you see him." he laughed. "But I must warn you that he will not be alone."

"His whore." Snow spat angrily. "I will kill the woman when I see her."

"Let us put that to the test because they are coming right now." the Dark One laughed maniacally when he saw the face of Snow White.

"Snow! How did you escape?!" Charming asked while raising his sword.

"You deceiver and liar Imp." Red said angrily at the Dark One. "Do you have any idea of what you have just done?"

"Released the former Queen from her cell and stolen the Dark Curse from the fairies?" he mocked.

"He has the Curse!" Charming said worriedly while fighting some soldiers that had managed to enter through the underground tunnels. "Go!" he turned towards Red while smiling sadly. "You must warn Emma and Regina."

"I will not leave you." she cried softly. "I can't David."

"You promised above it all to protect Emma and Regina." he smiled. "We both did."

Snow knew that look in his eyes very well, it was the same look he had given her the first time they met. It was the look of love and affection that many years ago had swept her off her feet. A look that had stopped being made towards her since she got incarcerated. Now that look was being received by Red, her former best friend.

"It was her?!" Snow screamed angrily. "You're sleeping with my former best friend? With a werewolf?!" she spat.

"Who I love is no longer your concern." Red said while remaining close to Charming. "David deserves to be loved by someone who does not manipulate or abuse of him. Someone better than you."

"Although this is getting interesting." the Dark One said from the side. "We don't have time for this." he moved his hand and Red was gagged and tied in a corner of the room.

"What did you do to her?!" Charming screamed while trying to hit the Dark One who disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

"Don't worry, I simply restrained and prevented her from interfering." he replied from behind him. "Now..." he used his magic to hold Charming still while looking at Snow. "Remember what I did a few moments ago and take his heart."

Snow started to slowly walk towards Charming, who was pleading at her to stop.

"This is not the way." he said sadly. "If you do this then there is no coming back from that."

Snow continued moving, uncaring about the screams and threats coming from Red.

"You can't do this!" she cried. "I believe you can still change Snow." Red whispered. "I still believe there is some good inside of you."

"If not for me then do this for Emma!" Charming screamed. "She is finally happy. She found her True Love and she has the life she deserves. Don't take that away from her Snow, we are her parents."

"For Emma." Red implored. "Do not destroy your own daughter's happiness."

"What she has." Snow replied tersely to the two of them. "Should be mine." she hissed angrily. "And I will do what I must in order to take it." she pushed her hand inside his chest and Charming screamed. "I will get my happy ending." the former queen finished while pulling out the heart of the thing she loved most.

"Noooooo!" Red screamed while angrily moving from side to side, trying desperately to release herself from her binds.

"You won't win." Charming chuckled while looking at Snow's hand. "Emma and Regina will find a way to stop you." he then gave a sad smile to Red. "I love you. Thank you for giving me another chance at happiness."

"I love you too." Red cried.

"Don't be so sure." Snow smiled evilly and looked at Red. "You should have just stayed away from what was mine and perhaps I wouldn't have needed to do this." she finished while crushing his heart and watching the life drain away from his body.

"I will kill you!" Red screamed from the top of her lungs. "I promise you Snow White that I will kill you with my bare teeth."

"I don't think so." she sneered and placed the ashes of Charming's heart into a potion the Dark One had procured.

"Wonderful!" the Dark One exclaimed when he felt the darkness of the Curse taking a hold of all the light and good of this realm. "My business here is done." he finished and with a last bow to Snow he disappeared.

"Well now that he is gone..." Snow mussed to herself. "I believe I should be on my way as well. After all..." she smiled darkly. "There is a little boy that I'm dying to meet."

"You won't touch him!" Red roared and jumped Snow who surprised at her attack slashed her sword.

"You're no match for me." she chuckled. "Not when you're injured like that."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Red laughed. "Just kill me already."

"And stop you from experiencing the pain of losing a loved one, your life and the freedom you have?" Snow teased her. "That would be too easy for you. Besides, it's my turn to make you pay for stealing what was mine."

"David was a person not a possession." she cried. "He deserved to be loved. And so did Emma."

"Well, that won't be your mission anymore." she finished and with a hit of her sword she left an unconscious Red laying on the dungeons.

 _(End of Flashback)_

After that moment Snow had not seen the Dark One. Instead, she had dealt with Mr. Gold, his cursed identity who held many similar traits to the Imp. She had kept her promise to him, and apart from her, he was the most powerful man of this town. Nevertheless, it was like they had some sort of agreement: He didn't mess with her business and she left him alone. That was until this morning of course.

 _(Flashback)_

"Mayor Blanchard." Gold said while sitting down in a chair.

"Mr. Gold, to what do I owe this visit?" she asked bored.

"We have new visitors." he smiled.

"New visitors?" Snow asked completely shocked.

"Yes, two women and a young boy." Gold smirked. "They are having breakfast at Granny's right now and being the talk of the town. I wonder how is it that you have not heard of this?" he mocked her.

"Unlike you Mr. Gold, I'm the mayor of this town and as usual my days are very busy to be spent gossiping."

"Of course." he conceded. "I was just curious about their length of stay, since I own most of the real state in this town it would be beneficial for me to rent them something."

"Stay?" she stopped reading her notes and stared at the man who was smiling.

"Of course." he replied too happily. "After all, shouldn't it be your plan as mayor to endorse tourism and outside capital entering the town? What better opportunity than this one?"

"What is your angle here Gold?" Snow got tired of his riddles and games.

"There is no hidden motive other than knowing who these new people are and if they are interested in giving me more money. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Of course." Snow muttered while standing up.

"Where are you going?" Gold teased her.

"I asked my secretary to bring me coffee but I tire of waiting for her to come back. So instead I will go and get it myself." she hissed angrily.

"Do share what you find out about the new strangers Mayor Blanchard."

"If you want to know about them then speak to them yourself Gold." she said while opening the door for him to leave.

"Always a pleasure talking to you." he winked at her and left with no hurry.

 _Asshole,_ Snow thought and quickly made her way towards the diner.

 _(End of Flashback)_

If there was one thing Snow didn't believe in was coincidences. Although it was also true that Gold owned most of the businesses of the town and extra people meant extra income, making his interest in them material and nothing more. But also, what if he knew something that he was not telling her? _But he can't know anything because he can't remember,_ she told herself. This was why she regretted her decision to cast the Curse without asking more questions. During these four years Snow had the opportunity to reconsider all the things she had done beforehand, remember the betrayal from Cora and the haste with which the Evil Queen and Emma locked her away. She remembered the look on their faces when they knew they would forget the other, when Regina couldn't prevent her from taking their happiness away and the weakness of Emma's stand just moments before the cloud of smoke took them all away.

It had been such a thrill for her to wake up and find herself in a new world, a new land where she had everything she had wished for. She had taken a stroll through town and had seen the looks of her former enemies, how miserable they all were and yet how incapable they had been of doing a thing about it. The Evil Queen had reverted back to her terrified younger version and the sick pleasure she had in making her life hell was an added happiness. She had gone to the hospital to check on her daughter and when she noticed Regina sitting next to her it had been la crème de la crème. 4 years had passed just like that, each day similar to the next and after a while Snow grew accustomed to it all. She learned to enjoy the terrified stares, the longing silence that invaded a room the moment she stepped in. The advantages her position as mayor gave her were also gratifying. It had been wonderful to use the Elite Army of her daughter and the Evil Queen against her own, to bed their most trusted man night after night and get him to do her every bidding. It had not been as gratifying as being with Manohara or Charming, but at the end of the day an orgasm was an orgasm.

"Regina?!" she yelled for her secretary.

"Yes Mayor Blanchard?" the timid woman asked her and Snow smiled.

"I want you to go get me a coffee at Granny's and while you're there to schedule a new meeting time with Agents Wells and Bering."

"About that..." Regina stuttered. "They couldn't make it yesterday because they were at the hospital. Agent Wells had an accident at the diner."

"That is terrible to hear, I hope she is feeling better." she said uncaringly but then looked at Regina suspiciously. "When did you meet with them?"

"Yesterday at the hospital. I volunteer there every day." Regina reminded her.

"Of course." Snow said while looking at her computer and motioned for Regina to leave, already remembering that the brunette always went to the hospital to see her daughter.

SQSQSQSQSQ

"So yesterday was interesting." Myka said to a relaxed-looking Helena while waiting for Henry to get ready.

"Indeed." Helena chuckled. "I still find it hard to believe that our mission is to reunite the Evil Queen with the White Knight."

"Well, when you say it like that." Myka laughed. "But isn't it sweet and romantic? How much they love each other and Henry that they were willing to go through this Curse in order to save the other?"

The two women had a very eventful night after returning from the hospital. They had been aware of a summary of the Curse and what it meant. Still, they were very ignorant about the mechanics of the Curse and what it meant for someone to cast it. In fact, they had been so naive about it that during the night they had been discussing strategies to get Snow White to reveal to them the truth. Instead of all the secrecy and expecting two people to fall in love (and one of them in a coma) they could just force Snow to break the Curse.

 _(Flashback)_

"Like a failsafe!" Myka had said happily. "You know, in case something happens and she needs to escape the town or return to the Enchanted Forest."

"She must have that." Helena thought about it. "It would be pretty stupid to not have a backup plan in case something went wrong."

"What are you two talking about?" Henry asked them after finishing his shower.

"Does your book mention anything about Snow White having a failsafe?"

"A failsafe?" Henry asked confused.

"Yes, something in case the Curse fails or something else happens." Myka explained to him.

"No. Why?" he asked them cautiously.

"That way, instead of getting your mothers to fall in love with each other we can just interrogate Snow and force her to tell us where that failsafe is. The Curse breaks, everyone remembers and done." Myka said proudly.

"Are you two crazy?!" Henry scolded them. "It's not that simple."

"But then it would not be logical for her to not have an extra plan."

"Snow White was not a logical person. She was seduced and controlled by her greed, her desire for power. She got tricked by the Dark One into casting the Curse without really knowing about it."

"Ok, so it's not that simple." Myka appeased him. "Henry, you must remember that we don't come from that land, hence we don't know the stories or the people from there. If you don't explain things to us then we will assume that people from there act like people from here."

"Ok." Henry said while sitting in front of them. "So you know that Snow White cast the Dark Curse and that she sent all of the people from the Enchanted Forest here, correct?"

"Yes, she did it for revenge. To get back at her daughter Queen Emma and Queen Regina who took her throne in a rebellion." Helena summarized.

"It was more than revenge." Henry explained. "All Snow White has ever wanted was power. The people that got in the way for her quest of power were usually killed. In fact, the whole rebellion started because she forced Emma to almost marry a man she didn't know, a prince."

"Yes, to get an army." Myka remembered.

"Yes, but the main reason she needed that army was because she wanted to invade another kingdom, the Gold Kingdom, to recover some lands that had previously belonged to the White Kingdom."

"And why did they steal those lands from them? That is motive enough to want war." Helena said.

"Those lands had magical beings living in there and had been part of an informal agreement between the two kingdoms done during the reign of Snow White's father."

"So why not keep that informal contract?"

"Because her people were starving and she needed more land. She had spent almost all of her resources and instead of changing production she decided to just expand. A temporary solution." Henry explained to a surprised Helena and Myka.

"Sometimes I forget that you're more mature than other kids your age." Myka chuckled. "Keep going."

"So Princess Emma escapes because her parents are forcing her to marry when they themselves married because of True Love."

"That is a very hypocrite stand from them." Helena murmured.

"My mother thought the same." Henry chuckled. "So she ran away, usually being chased by White Kingdom soldiers who were ordered to return her to the palace."

"And then she met your mother Regina." Myka smiled softly.

"Yes, and they didn't trust each other because everyone believed that the Evil Queen had been dead. What happened in reality was that my mother was given a chance at complete absolution were she to pass a test. That test took her 18 human years and at the end of it she was absolved from all her past sins and crimes."

"And who had the power to give her that forgiveness?" Helena asked curiously.

"Fate." Henry explained to Helena. "They are the creators of the universe and all the different realms and realities out there. They usually choose to not intervene in human affairs but they must have seen something in my mom that made them offer her an opportunity at another chance, a new start."

"So Fate gives Regina a new chance and 18 years have passed since she was assumed to be dead." Myka said. "And then she met Emma who was a runaway princess. Then what happened?"

"They fell in love." Henry chuckled. "Since most of the time they spent it saving one another, it was soon that my mother Emma realized that the woman with her was the former Evil Queen. After that my mother Emma decided to stay with my mother Regina and go to her castle at the Dark Kingdom, the one place Snow was incapable of entering."

"Ok, so how did they go from reaching a castle to leading a rebellion?"

"At first it was all done so my mother Emma could be safe. My mother Regina was very protective of her and it didn't take long for Snow White to learn that she was still alive. As a result, the fight turned to be one of killing my mother Regina once and for all. Put into the equation angry peasants and a faithful set of soldiers and you got yourself a loaded rebellion."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense." Myka said softly. "So now we have a full-scale rebellion and Snow White formally fighting her daughter and the former Evil Queen."

"Not exactly. You see, there was someone advising Snow White during that time named Cora, who was also my mother Regina's mother."

"Ok, stop right there." Myka interrupted him. "So Regina's mother was aiding a corrupt and evil ruler?"

"Yes, because Cora also wanted to become more powerful than what she was. You must understand that the Dark Curse was not initially a plan of Snow White. It was my mother Regina the first one that attempted to cast it."

"So your mother Regina almost successfully cast the Curse?" Helena asked baffled.

"Yes, but she failed because Prince Charming, Emma's father, stopped her. The moment that happened was the moment she went to gain her absolution." Henry said while pacing around the room. "Charming retrieved the Curse and believed he placed it somewhere safe by giving it to Snow who then gave it to Cora."

"So Snow had never met Cora and that's why she gave it to her." Myka realized.

"Not exactly." Henry said embarrassed. "You see, there are many uses to magic, one of them giving a person the ability to look like another person. Cora used that ability to hide her identity from Snow White and her council. While pretending to help the White Kingdom, what she was doing instead was help herself."

"That is awful." Helena said shocked.

"The moment Cora sees that my mother Regina is alive she realizes that she can now use the Dark Curse. By doing so she wouldn't need to hide who she was and she would have total control." Henry said while staring at the two agents who were absorbing every bit of information. "Magic always comes with a price. A Curse of such magnitude has a very big one to pay; The heart of the thing you love most."

"And that was your mother Regina." Myka said horrified. "So although Snow White wanted Regina dead, it was Cora the one that wanted to capture her so she could cast the Curse."

"Correct." Henry said somberly. "And she almost succeeded. In order to keep her facade with Snow White she had to give her something in return, which meant getting my mother Emma back to the White Kingdom. By making a deal with the Dark One, who gave her a forgetting potion, Cora sent a spy to the Dark Kingdom to curse my mother Emma with the potion."

"Making Emma forget and be willing enough to go back and do Snow's bidding." Helena said horrified. "I imagine they failed because you said she almost succeeded."

"Yes, thanks to my grandfather Charming. He was tricked by Snow White and Cora to come retrieve my mother Emma from the Dark Kingdom. Thankfully, a fairy warned him about the forgetting potion and they stopped the traitor before he could give it to my mother." Henry appeased them. "And they used Cora's failed attempt to their advantage: They tricked and made them all believe that the spy succeeded and a day later my mother Emma returned with my grandfather to the White Kingdom."

"Because they realized Cora's plan." Myka guessed correctly. "And wanted to get the Dark Curse so it wouldn't be used. I remember you told us that it was stolen from the fairies before Snow White casted it."

"Yes." Henry smiled at the woman. "As you know they won the rebellion and captured both Cora and Snow White. The Dark One was never found and the Dark Curse was placed in the fairy kingdom. Cora's magic was neutralized and Snow was placed in a dungeon."

"And she then escaped with the help of the Dark One and casted the Curse." Helena finished but then looked at Henry. "But she needed the heart of the thing she loved most. And Emma is alive." she then opened her eyes in shock. "Do not tell me that it was your grandfather."

Henry looked down but still nodded.

"Oh Henry..." Myka said while approaching him and giving him a side-hug. "I'm so sorry."

"Up until now I didn't understand what had happened to him. I was young and I was just told to hide." he angrily chuckled. "But now that I have read the book and thought about it, there was no one else Snow White loved." he looked at the two women. "And if Snow White was capable of murdering her own husband then she is capable of anything." he finished solemnly.

"All because of power?" Myka whispered saddened.

"My mothers placed me in an enchanted tree because that way I would stay away from Snow White. As you are already aware I have certain abilities. I have magic just like my mothers." he said proudly. "That magic, if trained, would have made Snow White even more powerful."

"She wanted to steal you?!" Myka screamed. "Because of your magic?"

"Power can make a person do many terrible things." Helena murmured darkly.

( _End of Flashback)_

"I guess that is the true meaning of love." Helena said softly. "Be willing to sacrifice your own happiness for the one of your loved ones."

"I don't think there is a better or purer love than that." Myka reflected. "Yes, to have passion and lust is a plus." she chuckled. "But at the end of the day, to know that there is someone out there who will always put me first is heartwarming."

"And do you think that there is someone out there?" the older brunette asked her.

"I don't know. I wish. I hope." Myka smiled. "It would be very sad for me to think that there's not." she looked at Helena who was staring deeply at her. "What about you?"

"I dream of having a person to care for me like that." she confessed. "After losing Christina I thought my heart would be incapable of loving again. That it was too broken for it to be worthy of giving to someone else."

"And now?" Myka asked softly.

"I think it has started to slowly mend itself." she smiled. "Besides, just like you Myka, I must have hope that there is someone out there who will accept and love me just as I am. Even with my flaws and dark past." Helena looked down.

"Hey..." Myka whispered while raising her chin. "Perhaps there is already someone that does?"

"Is there?" Helena asked, slowly getting closer to Myka who was now staring at her lips.

"Definitely." the younger brunette answered while looking at the way Helena's eyes moved from her lips to her eyes. _Does this mean what I think it means?_

"I'm ready!" Henry screamed while opening the door of the car and making the two women quickly separate from one another. "Did I just interrupt something?"

"No Henry." Helena smiled at him. "We were just talking."

Henry chuckled while looking understandably at Myka who just shrugged.

"Cool, sorry for taking my time." he gave each one a piece of paper. "The list. Updated." he smiled at them.

"So what is the plan today Henry?" Myka asked him from the front seat. This time it was Helena driving.

"We will go have breakfast at the diner again and hopefully see my mother is already there. Instead of sitting on another table we will force her to befriend us." he chuckled. "By sitting on her table. That way not only will we find out what she does but also we will know Snow White's schedule."

"Because Regina works as her secretary." Helena smiled at him. "That is genius."

"Henry is very smart. You should be careful Helena." Myka teased them.

"But there is a nasty part to the plan." Henry said and Myka moved the wheel too fast.

"Be careful dear." Helena chuckled while grabbing the handle on her side of the door. "Do not kill us before stopping this Curse."

"I'm sorry." Myka gulped while giving a dirty look at Henry who was very aware of what he had said. "What uncomfortable part?" she corrected him.

"You two must meet with Snow today. Find out what she knows and what she wants if you can but don't sell yourselves or our cover."

"We are experienced agents dear." Helena mocked him. "We have done this many times."

"Ok, sorry." Henry raised his hands in fake-surrender. "Just warning you."

"And we appreciate it." Myka looked at Helena who shrugged. "Where will you be meanwhile?"

"Oh that." he smirked. He looked at Helena. "Since Snow seems to like you." he gagged a little and chuckled when again Myka moved the car violently. "You will ask her if it's ok for Regina to babysit me."

"Babysit you? Aren't you too old for that?" Myka joked with him while trying to analyze Snow's attitude towards Helena.

"You know what I mean." he blushed. "That way I can take her to the hospital to see my mom Emma again. You know, speed things up."

"I think your plan is solidly built." Helena praised him. "But what if Snow says no?"

"She will not. She is scared of you and will want you on her side." Henry said surely.

"Well I guess we don't have much to lose." Myka accepted. "Besides, it's not like I want you to be in the same room as her. We must act as if we don't care much about you, hence making you not that important as a person. Once that happens she will believe more strongly that us getting together was done out of convenience."

"Agreed." Helena smiled warmly at Myka who blushed.

"You're a genius as well." Henry winked at her.

"Myka has an eidetic memory." she said proudly. "And can fluently speak French, Portuguese, Latin, Russian and Chinese."

"That's awesome!" Henry smiled. "I have always wanted to learn Latin since some modern spells were written in that language but only my mother Regina knew how to speak it."

"I can teach you." Myka promised him while smiling softly. "It's a beautiful language."

"Awesome." Henry said and hopped out of the car the moment they arrived at Granny's.

"Keep him safe?" Helena repeated yesterday's favor.

"Keep him safe." Myka reassured her and swiftly entered the diner.

Looking for Henry, the two agents smirked when they noticed him sitting at Regina's table. The two of them were happily talking to one another and it was very clear that the two of them were close.

"Isn't it amazing?" Myka whispered in complete awe. "That there are bonds no magic or Curse can undo?"

"It is." Helena smiled sadly.

"Helena..." Myka understood immediately her mistake. "I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize dear." Helena said bravely. "I am happy Henry has not lost the love of his mother. Besides, he seems to be calling us." she pointed towards the young man who was waving excitedly at them.

"Showtime." Myka bumped shoulders with her while surely walking towards their table.

Helena took the opportunity to appreciate the younger brunette's body and the way she confidently used it. Looking around the room she also noticed other people staring at it, which surprisingly made her get close to Myka and possessively pose a hand on her waist. Embarrassed by her reaction she was going to let go but instead of getting a surprised or angry reaction, Myka just smiled at her and squeezed her hand before letting go and sitting next to Henry, which left Helena the seat next to Regina's.

"Hello." she smiled at Regina.

"Agents Wells and Bering." she responded happily.

"Bering and Wells." Myka said and blushed.

"I am afraid Myka will keep doing that until you mention her last name before mine."

"It just sounds better." Myka defended herself and Henry and Regina laughed.

"I was just mentioning to Henry how relieved it made me feel to know you were alright." Regina looked at Helena.

"Thank you dear." she showed her hand and expertly moved it around. "It is not hurting so much this morning."

"Happy to hear that." the secretary said honestly.

"Did you do it?" Henry asked her.

"Do what?"

"Talk to the blonde woman?" Henry smiled. "You know, about yourself."

Regina blushed and looked down in embarrassment.

"You don't have to answer his question." Myka scolded Henry. "He sometimes doesn't know when to not ask questions."

"I'm sorry." Henry apologized, knowing he had pushed too much too soon.

"That's alright." Regina accepted the apology quickly. "But since we are talking already I was told by Mayor Blanchard to schedule a new appointment time."

"Of course." Helena said. "I hope she did not interpret our absence as a sign of disrespect."

"I mentioned to her that you were at the hospital and she accepted the news." Regina replied while taking her diary out. "Told me to ask you to meet with her today."

"The sooner the better." Myka replied tersely.

"How about today in two hours? Does that give you enough time?" Regina asked them.

"Yes, thank you very much." Helena smiled curiously after watching Myka's tense answer.

"Wonderful." Regina replied while standing up.

"Must you go?" Henry asked her sadly and the two women saw how surprised Regina was at hearing the sadness in his voice.

"I'm afraid so." Regina said apologetically. "But when you come with Agents Bering and Wells." she smiled at the two women. "I will see you again."

"Ok." Henry said appeased and gave a hug to Regina. "Bye." he finished nonchalantly.

"Bye." Regina replied surprised while grabbing the coffee from Red who was chuckling softly.

"Henry..." Helena scolded him softly. "I know you want the Curse to end but pushing your mother like that will only make her doubt her feelings."

"But why? I can see she cares about me."

"She does." Myka conceded. "But there is a huge difference between caring and loving." she smiled sadly. "This is the real world and love is not like that."

"It could be." Henry retorted. "But you people always try to rationalize your feelings and question yourselves. Like you're impeding your own happiness."

"Doubting and considering your choices are not bad things to do." Helena defended their position.

"It is when it prevents you from living." Henry relaxed. "Listen, I know it's hard for you to believe in such a thing, but to me, falling in love at first sight is not unusual. When it happens it's seen as a gift."

"So even in the Enchanted Forest not all people have this deep connection." Myka tried to make her point.

"Yes, but in this case the connection was already established. My mothers already met and shared True Love with one another."

"But this version of Regina is not the same one of the Enchanted Forest." Helena said softly. "So were a connection to happen between them it would be a new one Henry."

"Because they're different people now. Different people means different kind of love." Myka said condescendingly.

Henry shrugged at hearing their arguments and it made sense, all of it. He realized that they were right and that the most probable thing was that her mother's Emma true self was also changed during the Curse. Also, although he remembered every single thing he experienced with his mother Regina, she did not. So hugging her, asking her difficult questions and embarrassing her were only making her feel uncomfortable and unsure around him. It was as Myka and Helena said; that just because she cared that didn't mean she loved him yet. She couldn't because she just met him.

"I'm sorry." he said disappointed. "It's just that when we talk, it's almost as if I'm talking to my mom and I momentarily forget that she was Cursed. At that moment it's just us, Henry and Regina, talking about our day and each other."

"Don't apologize for loving your mother too much." Myka smiled sadly.

"But do not rush her."

"So no hospital trip?"

"Still go if she is willing." Helena smiled. "But it is different to talk about something in context, like you did yesterday, than to blurt it out of the blue during breakfast."

Henry chuckled. "Ok, ok, I learned my lesson." he raised his hands in mock surrender. "Be more subtle about things and operations."

"An advice that all of us should follow." Helena looked at Myka.

"I will not apologize for mistrusting Snow White." she said defiantly.

"I am not telling you to trust her." Helena replied patiently. "Just do not show that you dislike her."

"I don't like the fact that she seems infatuated by you."

"She is not infatuated with me." Helena laughed. "She is just intrigued with all of us."

"She likes you." Henry confirmed what Myka said. _Can Helena be this naive? I bet this is why Myka feels so upset and pissed about it all._

"Well, if she does that certainly works in our favor."

"No it doesn't!" Myka hissed loudly. "That woman is dangerous. She almost killed her own daughter and actually killed her husband."

"I have killed people as well."

"And so have I!" Myka responded to the hidden self-accusation. "But what she did and what we have done is not the same thing."

"I killed those men because they murdered my daughter." Helena replied firmly and immediately looked at Henry who stared at her understandably.

"And you think that she also killed because of revenge. A misplaced revenge, but revenge nonetheless" Henry saw Helena's point.

"The desire for revenge is a blinding emotion. It can make a person do unspeakable things."

"But don't you see." Henry grabbed her hand softly. "She didn't kill out of revenge. If all of this would have been based on revenge then she could have just killed my mothers and be done with it. But instead she sent them here, cursed them to live under her rule and always apart. What must you have in order to decide the fate of an individual?"

"You must have power over that individual." Helena whispered.

"Exactly." Henry smiled sadly. "She has kept everyone here because it gives her power. The moment the Curse breaks and they all remember who they were and what happened it will be the moment she loses her power."

"So she will do everything she can to stop that from happening." Myka pleaded with Helena. "And she already did. With the Curse. With killing her husband, with hurting Emma and almost kidnapping Henry. Even in your darkest hour I know you would have never been capable of stealing a kid from a parent and using them for your selfish goals."

"She was doing that because she wanted Emma and Regina to suffer the ultimate loss a parent can experience." Helena now understood and was filled with anger. "The loss of a child."

"That's why we must be careful with her Helena." Myka begged her friend to understand. "If this woman is capable of all the things Henry told us yesterday then she will not hesitate to kill us if she sees us as a liability."

"Which is why you can't encourage her Helena." Henry explained. "Snow White sees people as possessions and nothing more. Becomes their obsessions until something new and better comes along."

"Ok." she raised her hands in surrender. "I understand and I will be more careful with the way I treat her."

"Thank you." Myka relaxed and looked towards the window. "Someone is staring at us."

"They're always looking at us." Henry said bored.

"With a camera?" she then looked at Helena. "What shall we do?"

"We ignore it for now and use it to our advantage later on."

"What about the trip to the hospital?" Henry asked. "If I just go with my mother there then she will be suspicious."

"Let me worry about that." Helena winked at him. "Now finish your food so we can go get ready for our scouting mission."

SQSQSQSQSQSQ

"Agents Bering and Wells." Regina smiled warmly at them the moment the women entered the office. "And Henry." she gave him her most dashing smile.

"Hi Regina." he said sullen.

"What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to apologize for earlier." he said honestly.

"Already forgotten." she gave the boy a reassuring smile. "Mayor Blanchard is expecting you."

"Before we go in." Helena said to Regina. "Would you mind keeping an eye on him?"

"But the mayor wants him to be at the meeting."

"The mayor will soon find out that we will be discussing things that no child is meant to hear." Myka remained firm. "Besides, Henry has gone through so much that we will do our best to help him avoid any unnecessary pain."

"Of course." Regina's protectiveness came out. "I will take him for a walk." she said resolutely and smiled at Henry who was staring at her in complete awe. "We can even go get a snack."

"Awesome!" Henry gave her his brightest smile and left with Regina.

"The magic of motherly love can break any curse." Myka smiled happily.

"Indeed." Helena chuckled. "Now that Henry is on his way let us go face our own demon."

"Helena." Myka warned her. "Let's be careful and smart about this."

"I am careful and smart."

"Smart yes, careful no." Myka teased her. "Now let's go." she opened the door of Snow's office and found the woman in a heated kiss with the Chief of Police.

"Excuse us." Helena said cheerily. "Should we come back later?"

"Of course not." Snow pushed the embarrassed man away from her. "I apologize but I didn't know you were here."

"Our fault." Myka smiled fakely.

"We asked your secretary if it would be ok for her to keep an eye on Henry while we talk?"

"I thought we would talk with him being present." Snow said angrily.

"I understand that but Henry went through a horrible traumatic experience. Hearing about it may cause him to re-experience it."

"PTSD." the Chief of Police said understandably.

"It would hurt Henry's recovery and prevent him from being an asset to the state." Myka finished for Helena. "Our main priority is to keep Henry sane until the trial begins. After we deliver him he is no longer our responsibility." _I hate talking about Henry like this._

"I see." Snow huffed. "Well, next time you plan on leaving me without a secretary do ask for my permission."

"We apologize." Helena smiled condescendingly.

"What's done is done. Now, let us discuss why you're here."

SQSQSQSQ

"So tell me about yourself Henry." Regina asked him while walking next to him.

"What would you like to know?"

"For starters how old are you?"

"13." Henry said simply.

"Are you liking Storybrooke?"

"It has its appeal." Henry smiled softly. "I come from Boston and things were a lot faster there. Barely a chance to take a break."

"I can see that. Instead here all you have is time to think and regret." Regina blurted out. _Why can I open up so easily to him? He is just a child for God's sake._

"What do you regret?" Henry asked softly.

"Many things." she replied simply. "Things not done out of fear. Things done out of fear."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Life." Regina chuckled. "What every person is afraid of. If what I'm doing is my sole purpose in life, if there is nothing more than my current situation, if this is it."

"Do you want it to be?"

"Of course not." Regina muttered.

"Then why not do anything about it? You are smart, you are friendly, you are capable and yet here you're working for a horrible woman who doesn't appreciate you."

"It's not that simple." the brunette looked down.

"But it is. That is the problem with adults." Henry said firmly. "Simple things are made complicated when they're truly not."

Regina looked at the boy who was staring deeply at her. Instead of answering him she just continued walking in silence.

"Again, I'm sorry." Henry blurted after a while. "I don't know why I find myself spilling my guts out to you."

Regina chuckled. "I find myself doing the same thing." she confided in him. "And I'm a very private person."

"Then I will consider myself lucky to be your friend."

"My friend?" Regina asked surprised. _So this is to what my loneliness has come to be, me being friends with a child?_

"Of course." Henry smiled warmly.

 _But a special child,_ Regina finished her line of thought and chuckled warmly. "Ok Henry, we will be friends."

"Awesome!" Henry fistbumped. "Then as your new friend I want to ask a favor of you."

SQSQSQSQ

"So Henry is the main witness in a police investigation." Snow summarized pensively.

"Yes, he witnessed a terrible crime in Boston that involves a very powerful drug cartel. Because of that he was placed under our protection until the trial begins." Myka said.

"Why your office?" the Chief of Police asked. "Secret Service is involved with protecting the President."

"We cannot reveal to you why we were chosen for this assignment." Helena replied firmly. "It can compromise the safety of Henry's identity and hence the trial." she then looked at Snow. "What we are doing is formally informing you of our presence in your town."

"What do you mean by that?" Snow asked. _Perhaps Henry's relationship to the President is one of importance and that's why they brought him to the middle of nowhere._

"We are not obliged to tell you we're even here." Myka explained. "But as a courtesy to you we are doing so."

"They're right." Anthony, the Chief of Police informed Snow. "Witness protection programs are allowed by the law to not reveal their position to local authorities."

"Ok..." Snow said a little more convinced after the meeting and verifying with Anthony that everything sounded right. "For how long will you remain in Storybrooke?"

"No longer than 3 months." Helena said surely. "The police are still gathering evidence and the criminals. After that happens then the trial date must be separated. It is a long and tedious process."

"And you're currently staying at the bed-inn?"

"Correct."

"That does not sound very comfortable." Snow said and Myka could imagine what the woman was doing.

"We manage." Myka replied tersely.

"I could help you acquire better accommodations. After all, I'm the mayor." she said while staring at Helena.

 _Shit, Myka and Henry were right,_ Helena realized. _Am I really that oblivious?_

Before she had the chance to answer her cellphone rang. Knowing immediately who it was she stood up.

"I am afraid I must take this call." she stared at Myka meaningly. "I will come back."

"Henry!" Helena answered while running towards the stairs of service. She didn't trust the woman to not have placed microphones in the building. "Are you alright?"

 _"I'm fine!"_ Henry said excitedly.

"Then what is wrong?"

 _"She's up! My mother Emma is up!"_

 _Well that was fast._ "Does she remember?"

 _"I don't know. We didn't see her."_

"Then how can you know that she is awake?" Helena asked him.

 _"Because she's no longer in her bed."_

"Ok Henry this is what..." she started saying but noticed Mayor Blanchard and Anthony get inside the cruiser. "Shit, Snow knows as well. She is on her way."

 _"The hospital must have called her. How do I explain that I'm here?"_

"You must leave now." Helena said firmly.

 _"I can't! My mother Emma is out there all alone. She needs me."_

"I can understand that." Helena said while walking towards Myka who had exited the building as well. "And we will look for your mother Emma. But Snow cannot see you there Henry. She will connect the dots."

"What's wrong?" Myka asked her. "How is Henry?"

"He's fine." Helena answered her. "Emma is up. Gone from the hospital but up."

"Oh my God." Myka now understood. "That's why Snow left in such a hurry. Is Henry already out of there?"

"No! He is with Regina."

"Tell him to leave right now." Myka said while taking the driver seat at the car.

 _"I won't leave my mother Regina alone."_

"Convince her to get in the car with us Henry. I know you can do that if you managed to convince her to get you to that hospital."

"What about the nurse that called it in? Does she know Regina?" Myka asked.

 _"No."_ Henry said. _"It was a doctor that Regina didn't recognize who was the first one on scene._

"Good." Helena relaxed a little. "Now get out of there."

 _"Ok."_ Henry said. _"We will be at the back door."_

SQSQSQSQ

"Why do you want to go to the hospital?" Regina asked him again while entering said building.

"I want to see that blonde woman again. Jane Doe." he replied honestly. "There was something about her that has been bugging me since yesterday."

"I know what you mean." Regina murmured.

"Sorry I didn't hear you."

"Nothing." she said immediately. "But I can understand what you mean, there's something about her."

"I know I shouldn't bring this up, and if it makes you uncomfortable you don't have to answer. But did you try what I suggested?"

"I did." Regina blushed. "And just like you said it felt different than other times." _And then she grabbed my hand but no one believed me._

"That's awesome." Henry smiled happily. "I'm sure she appreciates it."

"We may never know." Regina said while getting out of the elevator and walking towards the in-care patients.

"I believe she will be able to wake up one day." Henry said strongly.

"I hope your faith is well placed." Regina answered earnestly.

"You just need to believe." Henry turned around and instead of the blonde with the tubes she saw the bed empty. "What happened here?" he whispered. _She can't be dead._

"What do you mean?" Regina asked and stood in complete shock when she saw the state of the room. "Oh my God." she whispered and then quickly took a look around the room.

"Is she dead?" she could hear Henry crying.

 _Please don't be dead, please don't be dead,_ Regina begged while looking for the sign-in sheet. Finding it on the floor, she immediately took a look at the page and exhaled in relief when there was no notation for the last 40 minutes.

"She's not dead." Regina calmed the boy while hugging him. "No one has signed her sheet in the last 40 minutes."

"So that means she's up." Henry said excitedly.

"That woman has not moved in years, it would be impossible for her to even walk." Regina mostly said to herself. "She's in danger. They have to find her. Doctor!" she screamed and a man entered the room almost immediately.

"What the hell happened here?!"

"We found the room like this, the patient is gone. Seems she has woken up." Regina summarized for him.

"I will alert the authorities and medical team." he replied.

 _Oh no,_ Henry thought, _Snow will find out about this. I must leave. But I can't abandon my mother like this. I just can't._

"Henry where are you going?" Regina asked when she saw him move away from the room.

"I have to call Helena." he answered. "So she knows I'm alright."

"Ok." Regina said. "I'll be here."

Henry immediately went to the emergency stairs, knowing that there would be no cameras there. Dialing Helena's number he begged her to answer.

 _"Henry!"_ Helena answered him. " _Are you alright?"_

"I'm fine!" he said excitedly.

 _"Then what is wrong?"_

"She's up! My mother Emma is up!"

 _"Does she remember?"_

"I don't know. We didn't see her."

 _"Then how can you know that she is awake?"_ Helena asked him.

"Because she's no longer in her bed." he started to move from side to side.

 _"Ok Henry this is what..."_ Henry heard some noises on the background. _"Shit, Snow knows as well. She is on her way."_

"The hospital must have called her. How do I explain that I'm here?"

 _"You must leave now."_

"I can't! My mother Emma is out there all alone. She needs me."

 _"I can understand that._ _And we will look for your mother Emma. But Snow cannot see you there Henry. She will connect the dots."_

 _"What's wrong?"_ he heard Myka through the speaker. _"How is Henry?"_

 _"He's fine. Emma is up. Gone from the hospital but up."_

 _"Oh my God. That's why Snow left in such a hurry. Is Henry already out of there?"_

 _"No! He is with Regina."_

 _"Tell him to leave right now."_

"I won't leave my mother Regina alone." he decided it was time for him to speak.

 _"Convince her to get in the car with us Henry. I know you can do that if you managed to convince her to get you to that hospital."_

 _"What about the nurse that called it in? Does she know Regina?"_ he heard Myka ask.

"No." Henry said. "It was a doctor that Regina didn't recognize who was the first one on scene.

 _"Good. Now get out of there."_

"Ok." Henry said. "We will be at the back door."

Hanging up and quickly running back towards the room, he was relieved when he saw Regina sitting in one of the chairs.

"Is everything alright Henry?" she asked him after watching his frantic state.

"I know I'm asking a lot of you and that you barely know me." he decided to be honest. "But Mayor Blanchard can't know that we're here and she is on her way."

"How do you know this? Why can't you be here?" Regina asked.

"If I tell you you won't believe me." he said sadly. "That's why I need you to trust me and leave with me."

"How?"

"Helena and Myka are on their way to pick us up." he promised her. "Out the back door."

"But what about the woman?"

"We will look for her." he vowed. "I promise."

"I don't know why..." Regina whispered while looking at the room. "But I trust you Henry." she finished softly.

"You won't regret this." he smiled warmly. "Now let us leave." he said while pulling her through the door. "Stairs, now." he opened the door and let Regina enter.

"This is insane." Regina said loudly. "My day started with getting coffee and now I am running with a 13 year old boy and two secret service agents to find a coma patient."

"But isn't this the excitement you were looking for?" Henry asked while giving her his hand. "To do something more than what you were doing before?"

"You're twisting my words." Regina mumbled and exhaled in relief when she saw that indeed Helena and Myka were waiting for them.

"Quickly enter." Helena said to them. "I bet Mayor Blanchard and Anthony arrived a couple of minutes ago."

"Then what will we do?" Henry asked. "We can't let her find her before us."

"We know." Myka said understandably. "But she is the mayor and he is the Chief of Police. It's their duty to find her."

"But they will hurt her! They will hurt my..." he started to say but stopped before ruining their mission.

"Your what?" Regina didn't miss the way everyone tensed in the car. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Remember when I asked you to trust me? It includes now." Henry begged her.

"Leaving a hospital is different than trying to find a missing woman before the police or the mayor." the brunette said angrily.

"I can understand what you must think." Helena started. "But we are doing this in order to protect that woman."

"Protect her from the mayor? Why would she be in danger?"

"Don't you wonder why it has been so hard for the hospital to find a family member? I mean, it's not like your town is big." Myka raised the question. "Couldn't it be because the mayor didn't want that woman to be found?"

"And isn't it curious that the mayor's office was the first one called? We know because we were there talking to her before she received the call."

"You see." Henry said. "Something else is going on."

"You told me that Mayor Blanchard couldn't find us in the hospital. Why?"

"Because of the same reasons Mayor Blanchard can't find the woman before we do." Myka replied surely.

Regina was confused. She didn't know what to do, who to believe or trust. She felt a soft hand landing on top of hers.

"Please, you told me that you felt a connection with me. Trust your feelings and help us. Help me."

"I will help you Henry." Regina said this and knew she meant it.

"Thank you." Helena said from the front. "Henry, how will we find her?"

"I'm thinking about it." he said.

"Where would she possibly go?" Myka asked. "She has been in a coma for years. I don't think she even knows she's in Storybrooke."

"That's it!" Henry said. "She doesn't know she's in Storybrooke..."

"But she believes that she is still in the Enchanted Forest." Helena replied excitedly.

"The what?" Regina asked completely confused.

"Regina." Henry turned to her. "You are the only one capable of finding the blonde woman."

"But I don't even know her."

"You do." Henry said firmly. "You just don't remember."

"I would remember meeting a woman like that." Regina defended and immediately blushed at the implications of said statement.

"It's not your fault you don't remember." Henry exhaled and looked at the sky. "I thought I would have more time for this."

"For what?" Regina asked cautiously.

"We should have this conversation out of the car." Helena suggested. "Myka, park around so we can get out."

"Ok." Myka said while smiling sadly at Henry. "Done." she said while letting everyone out.

"No more lies, no more secrets and no more 'trust me'." Regina said firmly. "Henry, tell me the truth."

"I want to." he replied sadly. "You have no idea how much I want to. But I'm scared."

"Why, I won't judge you."

"You won't believe me. And you'll want to stay away from us." Henry murmured. "And I wouldn't really blame you if you did."

"You're scaring me." she then stared at the two women who were quietly watching the scene. "Are you real agents?"

"Yes we are." Myka said softly. "Our job and Henry being in danger is true."

"Everything we have said has been truth." Helena added. "And what Henry is afraid of telling you is also true."

"Then why don't you tell me. If it can help us find that woman then tell me."

"That woman, her name is Emma." he started softly.

"You know her?" Regina asked in complete shock.

"She's my mom." Henry started crying.

"Oh my God." Regina said in complete shock. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because no one can know." Myka said for Henry who was composing himself. "Even Emma doesn't remember she has a child."

"But how can that be even possible?"

"The same reason you don't remember I'm your son." Henry decided to just say it.

"My son?" Regina whispered in complete shock. "But it's impossible. I have never been with a man. I have never been pregnant."

"You have been. You just don't remember."

"How could I forget being pregnant? That's preposterous."

"A Curse. A powerful one that sent everyone from the Enchanted Forest to a land without magic. Here." Helena replied.

"You believe this as well?"

"I have seen the proof." Helena replied strongly. "I have seen the way you look at him longingly. I have seen the way Emma reacted to hearing his voice yesterday."

"She grabbed my hand." Regina whispered.

"What?" Myka asked.

"Yesterday, when I told her my name she grabbed my hand. The nurses didn't believe me."

"You see." Henry smiled. "She recognizes you because you're her Truest Love."

"Her what?" Regina asked confused.

"You two are married and you had a child. Me." Henry explained.

"But two women can't conceive." she retorted.

"Magic." Myka, Helena and Henry said at the same time.

"I should leave." Regina said to herself. "This is lunacy."

"Please don't leave." Henry begged her while grabbing her hand. "I know you don't remember me." he started. "But I do remember you and I have loved you and missed you so much." he smiled sadly at her.

"Oh Henry." she started crying for the boy. "I wish I were the woman you speak of. But I'm not and I'm sorry." she then looked at the two agents. "You should be ashamed of yourselves. For letting him believe all of this and getting him hurt."

"You are the one who is hurting him for not believing." Helena replied angrily. "Listen to your heart Regina. What is it telling you?"

Regina looked at the boy in front of her and felt her chest tighten. She was so confused. She wanted to believe that this boy in front of her was hers, that she had someone that loved her deeply. Not only one person, but two. That her existence was not this loneliness she had known for so long.

"I wish I could believe this." Regina started crying openly now. "I want to believe this."

"Mom." Regina automatically turned around when Henry addressed her. She noticed him standing in front of her. "I do love you. So much." he said and decidedly he kissed her on her fronthead.

The moment he did a small energy came out of them, completely surrounding mother and child and softly touching Helena and Myka who had been standing nearby.

"Is that?" Myka asked in complete awe.

"Magic." Helena said just as surprised. "True Love's kiss." she smiled.

"Henry. My dear Henry." they heard a sobbing Regina cry while hugging him tightly to herself. "You found us Henry, you found us." she continued saying while kissing his face.

"Mom!" Henry exhaled completely relieved.

"I love you Henry. I love you." she continued kissing him and then took a long look at him. "You have grown so much." she continued crying. "I am sorry we abandoned you."

"You gave me my best chance." he said strongly. "I don't regret anything. Don't torture yourself."

Regina nodded and then turned around to look at the two agents in front of them. Quickly standing up she engulfed each one of them in a strong hug.

"Thank you." she said to them. "For keeping my son safe and believing him."

"You're welcome." Myka said in complete awe. "So you remember?"

"Yes." Regina said angrily. "I remember everything."

"It is like you are another person. The way you stand and talk." Helena said almost speechless.

"Part of the Curse was to make us a shadow of our former selves. Easier to control." she spat angrily. "Emma..." she looked tormented for a moment. "We must find her."

"I think you know where she is." Henry said. "That's why we risked telling you. I wasn't sure True Love's kiss would work."

"I understand Henry." Regina smiled softly. "You did well. You came back and you saved me. Now we must save your mother."

"So since you had True Love's Kiss, shouldn't the Curse be broken?"

"That will take Truest Love's kiss." Regina replied darkly. "Meaning Emma will not have the benefit of remembering who she is."

"So Emma has to fall in love with you again." Helena understood Regina's peril.

"I do not know how Emma's cursed self will be. I already love her more than life itself." she vowed without hesitation. "The question is does she love me as well?"

"She does. Remember she grabbed your hand. She remembers us deep inside of her. You just have to make her see it." Henry said firmly.

"If I were you I would trust Henry's instincts. They have not failed us." Helena added.

"I do. I know the power of Truest Love and I believe it can break this Curse." Regina said. "Now let us go, I know where Emma is."

"Where is she?" Myka asked while sitting in the driver's seat.

"Where we first met of course." Regina chuckled. "She is near the edge of town."

"Then let's go." Myka started the car and drove quickly towards the entrance of the town.

The drive there was filled with questions done by Regina mostly to Henry. She wanted to know everything that had happened to him in four years. Helena could understand the guilt Regina was currently experiencing. She felt she had failed Henry as a mother and yet loved him too much to stay away from him. But Henry was no fool and could see the way his mother was acting.

"It's not your fault mom. It's Snow's." he said surely. "And she will pay."

"She will pay." Regina replied angrily. "There!" she pointed towards some bushes and Myka stopped the car.

"Storybrooke was built similar to our kingdom." she informed them. "This border was the road that separated the White Kingdom from the other smaller villages. This is where Emma almost killed me." Regina chuckled.

"Now let us separate." Helena suggested. "That way we cover more territory. Henry, go with Regina. Call us if you find anything."

"Will do." he promised and continued walking with his mom.

"I am very thankful Agents Bering and Wells found you."

"So am I." Henry smiled. "They have been good friends."

"And they shall be rewarded as such." Regina promised. "Look." she kneeled and grabbed a hospital ID tag. "She was here."

"Helena, she came this way." Henry called Helena immediately.

"Northeast." Regina supplied for him.

 _"On our way."_ Helena promised them.

"Look mom." Henry pointed towards a bush. "Seems that someone almost took down that bush."

"Oh gods." Regina almost screamed. "Emma." she said when she found her wife unconscious on the floor.

"We found her!" Henry said loudly and Regina noticed Helena and Myka quickly approaching them with their weapons drawn.

"She is cold." Regina whispered softly. "We must take her back."

"How do we explain that we found her?" Helena asked.

"That's the least of our worries right now." Myka said. "She could die here."

"Wait, she's moving!" Henry interrupted them.

"Emma?" Regina asked immediately and placed herself next to Henry, who was also staring intently at the blonde woman who had her eyes open and a small smile on her face.

"Regina." Emma caressed her face and Regina held on to her wife's hand tightly. "And my Henry." she said in complete happiness and closed her eyes again.


	5. A Hospital, Confessions and a New Ally

**Author's Note:** It seems that I am on a roll because here is another long chapter! I am writing all I can before schools stops me from doing so :) reviews are always welcomed and I want to thank you all for following and favoriting this story! Makes me feel really happy. Kudos!

* * *

"She lost consciousness again." Myka informed Helena. "Quickly, we must take her to the hospital."

"Can we even move her?" Helena asked.

"She just walked from the hospital to the forest all by herself!" Myka said angrily. "Carrying her carefully between the four of us to the car shouldn't hurt her."

"Ok." Helena raised her hands in a sign of surrender.

"She remembered us." Henry said happily. "Did you hear that?"

"I did." Regina replied carefully. "But I do not want you to get your hopes up Henry. No one can stay unaffected by the Curse apart from the Caster and creator."

"So you were not the creator of the Curse." Helena deduced.

"No, I was a mere puppet of the Dark One that was too close to blindingly aiding him." the witch retorted angrily.

"So that means that the Dark One doesn't have a Cursed-self." Myka approached them. "Ok, everyone grab an extremity of her body. Regina, you and Henry stick to her arms so that way you can support her torso."

"Myka and I will handle most of the weight from the legs. That way she will not fall." Helena instructed them.

"Where will we put her?" Henry asked the obvious question.

"The back." Myka replied while opening the door of the SVU. "Henry sit in the front with Helena so Regina can hold Emma's head."

"Ok." Henry agreed immediately and spooned himself next to Helena who winked at him. "Sorry." he said when he noticed his right elbow hitting her softly.

"Do not worry." she appeased him then looked at Regina. "Which way is the fastest to the hospital?"

"Take the highway and keep going straight, it will lead you to the town." Regina kept a hold of Emma's head. "And turn on the heat so we can slowly start to warm her up."

"Not too warm because we do not want her body to enter into shock." Helena reminded Myka.

"Got it." the curly brunette said while thinking about their next problem. "How do we explain this?" she motioned at all of them.

"You two were walking through town and we picked you up. Regina offered us a small tour that took us to the forest. We heard a scream of help and after a few minutes we found Emma unconscious." Helena explained.

"That is a very well thought-off excuse." Regina complimented the agent.

"And the photographer that was following us?" Henry asked.

"Photographer?" Regina asked surprised. "It must be Tauriel."

"You know her?" Myka asked.

"Tauriel was one of my moms' Elite Guards." Henry answered. He stared at his mom. "Have you seen her kids?"

"They are with her husband." Regina said sadly. "Who is now married to another woman."

"That is terrible." Helena said softly.

"All part of the Curse. It separated many families." the witch murmured. "One part that I am not too happy about is what is going to happen once the Curse breaks with these new unions."

"Things will go back to normal, right?" Henry was hopeful. "We will all go back to the Enchanted Forest."

"Not all people have experienced the Curse in a terrible way." Regina reminded his son. "Forming a bond with the child of another person is a hard thing to force someone to forget." she stared at his son. "Besides, I am not completely sure of what will happen with Storybrooke or what happened to the Enchanted Forest after Snow casted the Curse."

"What do you mean?" Myka asked.

"That perhaps the Enchanted Forest is no longer there." Regina said mournfully. "The Curse was so powerful that it destroyed everything in its path. Even if it the land is still there, the kingdoms were probably destroyed or invaded by remaining creatures."

"Remaining creatures?" Helena asked confused. "I thought everyone that lived in the Enchanted Forest came with the Curse."

"There are many kingdoms in the Enchanted Forest. Some go even further than the Dark Curse's reach."

"So there are other people there, in our home." Henry realized what his mom meant. "And they probably took advantage of us not being there to keep our land."

"Most probably." Regina said sadly. "Besides, since Snow is not a magic wielder she had zero control of the way the Curse created itself. That works to our advantage because she is unsure of whether an individual from this realm is capable of finding Storybrooke."

"And can a normal person find this place?" Myka asked.

"If you know the place exists." Regina shrugged. "You three did."

Myka and Helena looked at each other knowingly. Regina noticed this.

"What are you not telling me?" the witch asked.

"Something important that we promise we will discuss after we first figure out what we are going to do about the photographer." Helena promised the brunette. "Is she similar to her Enchanted Forest self?"

"I do not know." Regina said remorsefully. "Snow wanted me alone and working for her, so in order to do that she isolated me and treated me horribly." she chuckled darkly. "Not a bad plan of revenge from her."

"You're complimenting her?" Myka asked shocked.

"I can see that she used the Curse well and placed herself in a position of power and control. Not only that, but she took all my allies and turned them against me, somehow tying them to her. Right now we are the only people aware of who she really is. Everyone else in town is too scared of her."

"You mean the Chief of Police."

"He was my Captain of guards." Regina said sadly. "And he hates Snow White. Knowing that he was having an..." she looked at Henry. "a relationship with her will not please him."

"Similar to what will happen to Tauriel when she realizes her children are being raised by another person." Helena summarized.

"It is like having two identities. I feel strongly like my previous self, Queen Regina, and at the same time I am more patient and compassionate like Regina Mills. It is very confusing to join those two different personalities."

"Trust me when I tell you that I can understand what you mean." Helena muttered softly. "Which was another thing I started to question when Henry explained to us that we would have to break the Curse."

"What do you mean?" Henry interrupted.

"These people have been living this way during four years Henry. And perhaps some of them had better lives here than in the Enchanted Forest." Regina explained. "Once the Curse breaks things will become complicated."

"People have things here that they do not have in a medieval land." Helena reminded him. "Like democracy, equal rights, security and amenities that are impossible to replicate in the Enchanted Forest."

"You were royalty Henry, hence your life was a comfortable one." Regina smiled kindly. "Most people in our land did not have that same level of comfort."

"But in here they have almost the same things as I do." Henry understood. "I didn't think about all of this before."

"And no one would expect you to Henry." his mother assured him. "What you have already done is spectacular: You found us when it was almost an impossible thing to do, and you brought professional help." she looked at the two agents. "Who seem determined in staying until the Curse breaks."

"We made a promise." Helena smiled at Henry.

"And we already said that we were part of the team." Myka smiled at them. "We are getting close to the hospital." she reminded them. "Decision about the photographer."

"From all of us here you are the one that knows her best Regina." Helena said. "Is she loyal to Snow?"

"She does not like her, that is obvious." the former queen stated. "But she still does what the mayor asks of her."

"So Snow must have some dirt on her." Myka suspected. "I don't think she'll be as open as us about believing our theory of the town being Cursed."

"But what about her children?" Henry asked. "Just like that love got my mom to remember it could also make Tauriel remember."

"But her children do not remember her Henry. And they love their other parents as well." Helena explained to him. "They are not unhappy."

"So they don't need her." Henry realized. "So if she doesn't like Snow, what if we offer her to take Mayor Blanchard down?"

"What do you mean?" Regina asked.

"We'll have to risk it and worst case scenario Helena and Myka can Tesla her." Henry smirked. "And if she agrees we don't."

"Tesla her?"

"It's a gun that shoots electrodes. It incapacitates and makes a person lose their most recent memories." Myka explained. "Harmless but effective."

"That is a good plan. If she agrees to help us then we let her be and if not we just shoot her and steal the new photos she has of Regina and you. Without proof she will not tell Snow that she saw you there." Helena summarized.

"I think that's our best option." Myka added her own opinion.

"And since I am still not sure of what a Tesla is or how it works I will just trust your instincts." Regina voted.

"So all in agreement?" Henry asked and all the people in the car raised their hands. "Good, because we are here."

SQSQSQSQ

"What do you mean when you say she was found at the hospital?" Snow asked confused and upset. "When we were told she had disappeared and walked away by herself?"

"The new strangers brought her." Anthony explained nervously. "After our meeting they went to pick up the young boy who was still with your assistant. The agents explained you had left the office for an emergency and your assistant offered to give them a tour of the town. They heard a scream of help and after looking for a couple of minutes they found the woman unconscious on the floor." he summarized what he had been told.

"And did you believe them?" Snow asked suspiciously.

"Why not? The doctor agreed with his assessment that she had walked by herself and was suffering from mild hypothermia. The testimony made sense and many people saw the agents driving through town with Henry and Regina."

"Ok." Snow said softly. "You can go." she then looked up at him. "I expect you at my house later."

"Of course." he muttered and left the woman alone.

The moment Anthony left the room Snow screamed in anger and threw her office phone to the wall, immediately breaking it. It was too much of a coincidence for Emma to wake up from her coma just when the agents and that boy arrived. Not only that, but she had seen the longing looks Regina gave Henry. At first it had pleased her to see how that maternal instinct was still affecting the childless Evil Queen. But now it wasn't pleasing her. Closing her eyes in contemplation, she took a look at her cellphone and decided to start her new plan. Now that Emma was up she couldn't allow her to get close to the Evil Queen. No matter what, she was not going to let them fall in love again.

SQSQSQSQ

"So how are they doing?" Helena asked Myka the moment the curly brunette sat next to her.

"It's hard for Regina to hide her concern. She is battling herself in keeping her distance and not burst inside that room and demand answers." she chuckled. "That woman is so different to the scared secretary we spoke to a few hours ago."

"Tell me about it." Helena joined Myka in laughing. "And Henry?"

"Relieved his mother is alright. She has not awoken and he is hopeful that he will remember them." Myka sighted. "But Regina thinks this is very unlikely."

"So why did she remember then?" Helena asked.

"Her subconscious." Myka shrugged. "You know when you have just woken up and you spill the first thing that comes to your mind. Unfiltered."

"I have heard of such things." she stared longingly at Myka. "I forgot that you have some experience with what Henry and Regina are experiencing."

"Yes." Myka smiled sadly. "And just like them, it was painful to talk to a person that had no memory of the connection we shared."

"I am sorry." Helena apologized softly. "I know I already asked for your forgiveness many times." she looked remorseful. "But every time I try to imagine myself in your position I just become so upset."

"It was the price we had to pay." Myka murmured. "You for letting revenge blind you and me for..."

"Trusting me too quickly." the older brunette finished.

"For not realizing how vulnerable you still were." Myka corrected her softly. "For believing you were alright without me asking you if you were."

"My past mistakes are not your fault or responsibility Myka."

"I know that." the younger brunette clarified. "But they are also what ended up leading you to where you are now. So don't be too harsh on yourself when every person you care about has forgiven you."

"Have you?" Helena asked. "Forgiven me?"

"Of course Helena." Myka grabbed her hand. "I think I forgave you the moment you convinced me to return to the Warehouse." she chuckled. "I can never stay truly mad at you."

"Good for me." Helena whispered while staring at Myka. "Myka, there is something I have been meaning to ask you."

"Is something troubling you?" Myka asked concerned.

"I know that I am not the best person..." she started her speech. "I have many demons to slay and it is very hard for me to open up and trust others." she looked at Myka. "But I trust you. With my life. With my soul." she noticed Myka staring back at her. "And I know most of the times I do not show you how much you mean to me."

"How much do I mean to you?" Myka whispered hopefully.

"Too much for me to break your heart." Helena said back sadly. "You are too important for me. Too good and too beautiful for me to taint you."

"And that's the problem." Myka huffed angrily. "You think I'm this perfect being that has not done a single mistake. You think I'm too good for you when the reality is that I'm not. I'm human just like you."

"That is not what I meant." Helena muttered.

"It is." the curly brunette said defeated. "And that's why you will never allow yourself to fully heal. No one apart from yourself can truly offer you that forgiveness you're still looking for." she smiled sadly at Myka. "And I can't keep waiting for you to realize it."

"Waiting for me?"

"You're completely oblivious and it's a quality that I usually find endearing, but right now it's just making me mad." Myka said while getting closer to Helena. "I care about you Helena. No, I think I love you. But because of your selfishness and self-loathing I'm not sure I'll ever be able to find out."

"You love me?" Helena whispered completely numbed.

"Yes Helena." Myka grabbed Helena's hands between hers. "But I will not stay in this position I currently find myself in. Don't I deserve better than that?" she kissed Helena's hands. "And I'm not mad at you for not being sure of what you feel. You can't help it."

"But Myka..." Helena begged for time to understand what was happening.

"I don't want you to tell me that you love me after I just said it to you. I wouldn't believe you mean it."

"You wouldn't?" Helena asked saddened.

"You can't love me if you can't relearn how to love yourself first." Myka said sadly.

"I want to." Helena said softly. "I want to love you the way you deserve Myka. Because although you may not believe me, you are the most important person in my life."

"I do believe you Helena." Myka said softly.

"Then wait for me." Helena whispered. "I know it is a lot to ask of you. But please, wait for me." the older woman begged.

"I don't think you have a thing to worry about Helena." Myka tried to appease her. "Because I can't see myself not being in love with you."

"I will be worthy of you."

"You already are." Myka got closer to Helena and cupped her face. "And it's time you realize that." she looked towards the exit and frowned her face in annoyance. "Snow is here." she said while squeezing Helena's hands. "But we will finish this conversation later." she promised.

"Ok." Helena turned around and saw a man following Snow. "And she is not alone."

"That man, who is he?" Myka asked confused. "We haven't seen him before, correct?

"No." the older brunette muttered. "And I do not like that."

"Then let's get back inside and try to keep things calm between Regina and Snow."

"She is smart, she will not compromise Henry's safety by revealing to Snow that she is aware of who she is."

"I know that." Myka said while running straight towards Emma's room.

The moment the two women arrived they stared at the scene in front of them in complete shock.

"Oh no." Myka said deeply saddened when she noticed Henry and Regina looking completely desolated by what was happening.

"Well this complicates things." Helena whispered while looking at the man who was now hugging and kissing Emma on the lips.

"Who is he?" Myka asked completely shocked.

"His name is Killian Jones." Snow said from behind them. "And he's Emma's fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Helena asked completely speechless. "What a coincidence that the moment she wakes up he magically finds her."

"Good fortune for the couple, am I right?" Snow tested them.

"I guess so." Myka looked at the way Regina was forcing herself to not cry. _We have to get them out of here now. Nothing more we can do for Emma._ "Since Emma seems to be in the hands of her fiancé then I think we can leave." she stared at Henry who was numbly staying away from his mothers. "Henry, we must go now." she looked at brown eyes that were questioning her words.

"Yes Henry." Helena said while getting him to stand up. "Let us go get something to eat and then head to the inn." she motioned for Henry to go to Myka. "Miss Mills, a quick word."

"Why do you need her?" Snow asked cautiously.

"I want to ask her about properties Mayor Blanchard, since we will be staying for a while." Helena smiled pleasantly. "Besides, Miss Mills was very kind and helpful during the afternoon while giving us a tour of your town. Sadly I never got the opportunity to ask her about apartments or places for rent since we had to take Miss Swan to the hospital."

"Of course." Snow tried to smile pleasantly. "I am sorry I couldn't help you more with that."

"We understand. You are the mayor and hence a very busy woman." Helena tried to not spit venom with her words. "Now if you could excuse us. We do need to take Henry soon."

"Of course." Regina forced herself to stop looking at Emma and instead saw how Snow was watching her like a hawk. "Where will you take Henry?" she asked the moment they entered an empty room.

"Granny's and then the inn. But do not worry. While Myka feeds him you and I will go have a conversation with Tauriel. That way we can just stay at your apartment and Henry and you will remain close."

"Thank you." Regina said thankfully. "After this I do not think I will be capable of being alone."

"I understand." Helena hugged Regina softly. "We will fix this Regina."

"I hope so." the witch said defeated. "Before you all got here we were talking, the three of us, and it felt like old times. It gave me hope that it would not be impossible for Emma to fall in love with me again. Now I am not so sure."

"If you said that there was a connection then I am sure Emma felt it as well." Helena smiled softly. "Besides, you already managed to break one Curse. Another one should not be a problem."

Regina chuckled. "Let us see if history will repeat itself and the White Knight will fall in love with the Evil Queen."

"I believe you will realize that the woman sitting in that bed is aware that the demons of your past are that, your past." Helena chuckled at the irony of the conversation. "Talking from experience, even though we may believe that our mistakes and sins can be unforgivable it is not for us to judge others for forgiving them."

"So what do I do then?"

"Just be thankful that you have someone who knows who you are and has already forgiven you for what you did." Helena said while thinking of Myka. "Which is an advice that I should take as well."

"It is Myka, is it not?" Regina could see it in their eyes when the two women would look at each other.

"It is." Helena whispered. "And I have been so immersed in my own self-loathing that I have not seen what has been right in front of me. I do not know if now it is too late."

"It never is." Regina promised her. "When the heart falls in love it takes a long time for it to stop loving, even if staying in love is quite the painful experience."

"I know." she murmured. "I just hope hers is not too hurt."

"Emma told me once that love is not a painless emotion. That no matter how much you do not wish to harm or cause pain to your loved one it will end up happening. It is part of being imperfect." Regina smiled sadly. "But what a person must always do is be ready to repair or heal the pain they have inflicted."

"But I cannot justify loving Myka by causing her pain."

"You are misunderstanding the advice." Regina chuckled. "Which I also did when Emma first gave it to me. Never intend to cause pain to your loved one. If you do then you do not really love them, at least not in the way they deserve." she shrugged. "But even when we do not want to hurt the people we love we can end up hurting them. By refusing to be with them." she looked knowingly at Helena. "By preventing them of feeling the happiness and joy that comes from being in love. That can also cause a loved one pain."

"Even if I do it with the intention of protecting her?" Helena whispered.

"Even then it still hurts just as much." Regina choked.

"We will get Emma back." Helena promised. "And I know how painful it must be for you to leave her like this, but right now we have to worry about Tauriel and Snow being on our tail."

"She is suspecting something." Regina agreed while taking a page of her diary out and writing on it quickly. "This is my address. Come meet with me once Myka and Henry are at the inn."

"Understood." she smiled softly at Regina. "Do not stay too long here."

"I will not." the witch promised. "I will just say goodbye to Emma and then leave. It pains me too much to see her this close to a person that is not me."

SQSQSQSQ

"How are you feeling?" Myka asked Henry while they waited for Helena to get to the car.

"What do you mean how am I feeling? I just saw a man kiss my mom in front of my other mom who is her wife at the same time." Henry muttered completely upset.

"Ok, dumb question." the curly brunette raised her hands in mock surrender. "I'm sorry this is happening."

"It's not your fault. It's Snow White's. She planned it all. We underestimated her again and she found a way to keep my mom Emma away from my mom Regina. One thing my mother Emma has always been is honorable. If she believes she made a vow to Killian then she will not break it, no matter how much it pains her to keep her word."

"That is a nice quality to have Henry." Myka smiled sadly. "Not many people are like that, not anymore."

"I know." Henry exhaled. "But how will we convince my mom Emma that her Truest Love is not the same she's currently with? And how will my mom Regina get over this? Knowing her wife is with another man."

"Your mothers are strong and they know this is the Curse's fault. And I'm pretty sure that Emma can't be naive enough to not know that she has a connection with the two of you."

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't see it? The way she was staring longingly at the two of you while Helena talked with Snow? Trust me, deep inside of her Emma knows that something is not right."

"I hope so." Henry muttered. "I mean, before you all got there we were just talking, you know like we used to and it made me feel for a while that my family was whole again. My mothers were staring at each other with those dovey love eyes."

"Dovey love eyes?" Myka chuckled.

"Yes, the same ones you give to Helena." Henry smiled softly.

"I don't do that." Myka denied it while blushing. _Meddling boy._

"When will you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"Duh, that you love her."

"I already did." Myka confessed, feeling a little ridiculous at having this conversation with a 13 year old. _Mentally a 16 year old._

"And let me guess, she was completely oblivious until you basically had to spell it for her." Henry chuckled softly.

"Yes!" Myka said while looking at the young man.

"She may not know it yet but she loves you too." he said softly. "I read her story, you know." he confessed. "It's in my book. Things like that can leave many demons and scars."

"I understand that." Myka shrugged. "But how long will she punish herself for it?"

"My mom Regina also has a dark past. She explained it all to me the moment I was able to read. You see, she was scared I would read something about her from the many books of the castle's library. So she decided instead to just tell me everything."

"And did she?" Myka asked surprised.

"Every single thing she did and why she did it." Henry confirmed while smiling sadly. "And as I told you all a few days ago, she didn't get the title of the Evil Queen for nothing. My mom killed, robbed and made many people unhappy for many years. That's why I thought at first that she was a monster. I denied it all, for you see, my mom Regina was the sweetest mom a child could ever have. Because of that it was impossible for me to even think that she had been capable of doing such horrible things. And I now know that my initial reaction pained her: I stopped talking to her for a while, I became wary of her and her intentions. Instead, I turned to my mom Emma who had always been a hero, the White Knight." Henry chuckled. "Now it's ironic to know that my mom Emma was always the most tempered of the two of them and that my mom Regina reminded her that I was just a child. That I didn't know better."

"But you did." Myka could see it in his eyes.

"Of course I did. Every child can know when they hurt their parents. Sometimes they may not know why or how they hurt them, but they can see and feel their pain. I was selfish. I wanted my mom to suffer what I had suffered when I discovered that she was not perfect." Henry said dejectedly. "One day my mom Emma had enough and she screamed at me to stop being so insensitive. To stop being such a Charming."

"A Charming?"

"My mom Emma grew up in the White Kingdom where Snow White spread many lies about my mom Regina. Some things were true but usually most of them were exaggerated and many good acts she had done were obviously omitted. The owners of victory tend to be the ones writing the stories, is what my mom Emma had told me that day. She told me that the world is not one of black and white. That good people were capable of doing horrible things and that horrible people were capable of doing good things. She explained to me what my mom Regina didn't: How much she was hurt by her own mother, how much King Leopold damaged her and how her power as the Evil Queen gave her the freedom she had been robbed off during her youth. She also explained to me how many things my mom Regina did in order to make up for past mistakes. How sometimes she thought that it would never be enough, that her mistakes would always haunt her. Mistakes that were being reminded to her by me." he looked down ashamed.

"Your mother is a very strong woman." Myka complimented the brunette because it was true. "And you're lucky to have a person that loves you that much."

"I am." Henry smiled softly. "And it took me all of this time to finally understand what my mom Emma told me all those years ago." he stared at Myka. "It's not hard for people like my mom and Helena to self-loathe themselves. They are used to society's negative view of them and they honestly expect no forgiveness or redemption."

"So what do I do then?" Myka asked saddened.

"Show her you have forgiven her. Remind her that she is loved and try to tell her that the opinion of others does not matter. That concept, it took a while for my mom to fully grasp. I imagine it will be the same with Helena, a person that lives off the approval of others." Henry said knowingly.

"That's Helena." Myka confirmed. "And I already know all of these things." she said frustrated. "So why is it that I can't reach her? It's really frustrating."

"Perhaps you're thinking too much about yourself, trying to earn her love because you want it?" Henry raised his hands. "And I know that's what a person naturally wants when they fall in love. But maybe with Helena you've have to be different."

"Different how?" Myka asked while staring at the sky.

"I don't know." Henry shrugged. "I'm no love guru."

"Well you were doing a fantastic job up until a few seconds ago."

"Trust your heart Myka. It will guide you well." Henry smirked. "Besides, you are in the place where your True Love can be put to the test."

"Put to the test?" Myka asked confused. "You mean like a True Love's kiss?"

"Of course!" Henry said excitedly. "You want to prove to Helena that you love her unconditionally while knowing she loves you too? Just kiss her and find out."

"I don't know Henry. I can't do that to her."

"You can't do that to her or you're too scared to see what will happen when you do?"

"Both." Myka murmured.

"Believe Myka. You are in Storybrooke. You have seen magic and yet you still don't believe."

"I want to." Myka whispered.

"What do you want?" Helena asked while getting inside the SVU.

"To grab something to eat." Myka avoided the conversation and stared at Henry knowingly. "How is Regina?"

"She will be alright. But the soonest we figure this out the better." she stared at Henry. "And how do you feel?"

"I feel better now." he smiled softly. "Also hungry and ready to just end this Curse once and for all. But what about my moms?"

"There is nothing we can do for Emma apart from keeping an eye on her from the distance. Meanwhile, your mom Regina will return to her apartment and prepare it for our arrival. We will now be staying there."

"Awesome!" Henry said excitedly.

Helena turned towards Myka. "After we grab dinner I am going to drop you off with Henry at the Inn. You will keep him safe." she begged to Myka who nodded. "While Regina and I go have a little talk with Tauriel. No matter what happens we will come pick you up and we will switch places tonight. We are not going to keep Regina and Henry separated for longer."

"Understood." Myka said while staring at the older brunette. There was something different about the way she was looking at her and it was making her feel nervous. "Did something happen while you talked with Regina?"

"No." Helena said softly. "Although Snow is being cautious about her now that Emma has awoken."

"I can see that happening." Myka said upset. "I swear I want to Tesla that woman and just take her to the Bronzer."

"That exists?" Henry asked from behind. "The machine that can freeze the worst people and keep them in a vegetative state until the end of time?"

"It does exist and we almost never use it." Helena said softly. "The price of doing so is a high one Henry."

"I understand." he promised Helena who had relaxed her grip on the steering wheel.

"I'm sorry Helena." Myka said while looking down.

"Not your fault." Helena smiled sadly and squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Now go inside Granny's with Henry and order food for the four of us. I will keep a watch from outside." she promised and Myka gave her a soft smile in return.

SQSQSQSQSQ

Emma Swan had never felt so confused in all of her life. Her mind, her memories, were all blurry and none of the things Killian was telling her made sense. The moment she first opened her eyes she woke up to the most beautiful face in the whole world. _Regina,_ her subconscious kept reminding her. Regina and some agents had found her on the side of the road after she walked out of the hospital earlier that day. She had been asked many questions about who she was and what had happened to her but she honestly didn't remember. While the doctor had explained to her that amnesia was normal, she could see from afar how relieved the woman with pixie hair had been. Mayor Blanchard had given her a fake smile while Killian sat next to her and shared how much he had missed her. This had confused her because the man also lived in town. So if he lived here how was it possible that he had just found her now and not earlier?

Nevertheless, Killian's inquiries and Mayor Blanchard's hypocrisy were all shadowed by the warm presence of Regina Mills, her savior. She had noticed how brown eyes stared at her with concern and even love, which had surprised Emma. The woman in front of her loved her tremendously and yet did nothing to voice her feelings. Why was that so? And even curiouser, why didn't she remember her? Now she found herself sitting in the hospital bed all by herself, remembering her moments with Regina and Killian. The first conversation had flowed so easily between them, so calm and familiar while with Killian it was all filled with tension and awkwardness. In fact, that small time she had with Regina and the little kid Henry had been the safest and surer she felt of herself and of her life in Storybrooke.

 _(Flashback)_

"Hey." Emma heard a velvety voice say from afar. "You are awake."

Opening her eyes, Emma couldn't stop staring at the brunette sitting in front of her. Gulping in embarrassment at finding herself in such a position Emma pointed towards a cup of water and the woman immediately helped her drink from it.

"Thank you." Emma whispered.

"You are most welcome." the brunette gave her a dashing smile. "It is so nice to see you Emma."

"How do you know me?" Emma asked her because she was sure she had never met the woman in front of her. _I would totally remember meeting such a woman._

"You told us your name." the woman looked panicked for a little while but then composed herself. "When we found you."

"We?" Emma asked confused.

"Henry and me." she motioned for the boy to get closer. "This is Henry and I am Regina." she introduced them.

"Hey." she gave the small boy a soft smile. "Guess I have to thank you for finding me."

"It was nothing." the boy stared at her lovingly and although it confused Emma it didn't make her feel uncomfortable. "Based on the place I can assume that I'm at the hospital?"

"You're right." Henry chuckled. "You have been here for a while but now you're awake!"

"How long is a while?" Emma asked Regina. "A couple of days?"

"A couple of years." Regina murmured sadly.

"Shit." Emma whispered while looking at herself. "And no one ever found me or asked about me?"

"No one knew who you were until you told us your name was Emma."

"I see." she then looked at the three of them. "Are you my family?"

"We are not."

Emma could see the way Henry looked at Regina and it was the woman's eyes what made her question her answer. It was almost as if she was telling him to stick to the story and not say anything.

"Then why are you still here? If you're not my family?"

"We wanted to see if you were ok." Henry said while smiling softly.

"Thanks kid." Emma said embarrassed at having been mad at them. "But I can feel you both are not telling me something."

"Why would you say that Emma?" Regina interrupted.

"I have a superpower." she noticed Henry's smile widening. "I can know when people lie to me."

"I have not lied to you Emma."

"I know. But you phrase sentences in such a way that it prevents me from knowing if you're telling me the whole truth. Almost as if you knew about my ability."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"That's a lie." Emma smiled. She could hear Henry chuckling. "Tell me the truth Regina. Are we family?"

"No we are not." Regina answered and Emma could sense the truth in the sentence. She was disappointed.

"Are you here because you know me?"

"No."

"Lie."

"I do know you because I volunteer at the hospital." Regina confessed while looking down in embarrassment.

"She visited you every day and talked to you." Henry added while raising his hands in mock surrender when Regina scolded him with his eyes.

"Is he your son?" Emma asked and noticed the color draining from Regina's face.

Before Regina had a chance to answer she heard people entering the room and immediately a man with black hair and blue eyes was sitting in front of her.

"Emma?!" the man said happily while hugging her tightly. "Is it really you?"

"Who are you?" Emma asked confused while staring at Regina who was now looking at them and seemed to be heartbroken.

"I'm Killian." he winked at her. "Don't you remember?"

"If I would then I wouldn't ask." she said and heard Henry chuckle.

"Killian here has been looking everywhere for you since you disappeared." she saw a woman with pixie hair say from behind them. "Hi, my name is Mary Blanchard and I'm the Mayor of Storybrooke."

"Why is the Mayor of Storybrooke here in my room?" Emma asked while looking at Regina, her anchor. "Am I important?"

"I am here because I was placed as your emergency contact." she informed her. "As such, when you disappeared I was the first person that was called."

"I see." Emma mumbled. _But why, if she was my emergency contact and clearly seems to know this Killian, didn't she come sooner or showed Killian where I was? This doesn't make sense but she's not lying._

"When will she be ready to leave?" Killian asked the mayor who turned around and promised to find a doctor to answer their questions. "Are you the people who found her?" he asked Regina and Henry.

The two of them simply nodded in complete silence.

"Thank you." he said solemnly. "Now we will be able to leave and live the life we deserve."

"And why would I leave with you? I don't know you." Emma asked exasperated.

"Of course you do Emma." Killian gave her an understanding smile. "You just don't remember it. I'm your fiancé." he said and kissed her soundly on the lips. Completely in shock at what was happening she didn't separate from him but kept her eyes open the whole time, noticing how Regina and Henry were reacting. They were not happy.

"Since Emma seems to be in the hands of her fiancé then I think we can leave." Emma heard a voice say from the door and she turned around to see two women in pants and business shirts staring at all of them. "Henry, we must go now." she noticed the way Regina turned around to look at the woman but didn't question their order. It confused Emma.

"Yes Henry." the other brunette said while getting him to stand up. "Let us go get something to eat and then head to the inn." Emma noticed the brunette staring at Regina and something inside of her started to shift. She was not happy. "Miss Mills, a quick word."

"Why do you need her?" Mayor Blanchard reacted defensively and Emma stared at their interaction. She noticed the tension between the two new brunettes and Mayor Blanchard. It was obvious.

"I want to ask her about properties Mayor Blanchard, since we will be staying for a while. Besides, Miss Mills was very kind and helpful during the afternoon while giving us a tour of your town." _that's a lie,_ Emma noticed. "Sadly I never got the opportunity to ask her about apartments or places for rent since we had to take Miss Swan to the hospital." _that's not a lie,_ Emma realized confused and the fact that the two women seemed close was upsetting her tremendously.

"Of course. I am sorry I couldn't help you more with that." _that's a lie,_ Emma saw the way Mayor Blanchard was staring at Regina and she was not liking it. There was this instinct inside of her that was telling her to get out of the bed and protect Regina. _Strange._

"We understand. You are the mayor and hence a very busy woman. Now if you could excuse us. We do need to take Henry soon." the older brunette remained firm and Emma noticed how Mayor Blanchard relented and kept on staring at Regina.

"Of course." Emma was heartbroken when she noticed the way the older brunette's hand ended on top of Regina's shoulder, like a friendly pat or a touch that was meant to mean more. Fuming in anger and not understanding why this was she remained in complete silence while Killian and Mayor Blanchard talked about her.

"Did you hear Emma? If things turns out alright you'll be able to leave soon." Killian said excitedly.

"I heard." Emma mumbled and looked up hopefully when she noticed Regina entered the room again. She looked happier and that did not sit well with Emma because that happiness had come as a result of being with the older brunette.

"Mayor Blanchard, I came to grab my things and say goodbye."

"You're leaving?" Emma asked completely disappointed.

"Your fiancé is here and visiting hours will be almost over. Besides, I need to go to work tomorrow." she gave her a sad smile. "I am glad to see you are alright Emma."

"Will you come visit me soon?" she had to see Regina again, she just had to.

"I visit this hospital every day Emma." Regina gave her a soft smile. "It would be hard for us to not see each other."

"I'll hold you to that." Emma told her and swooned when Regina gave her a soft smile in return.

"I think the future husband and wife want some alone time." Mayor Blanchard smirked and the tone did not sit well with Emma. "We are very happy you found Emma and brought her here." _that's a lie,_ Emma realized and immediately understood that she couldn't trust Mayor Blanchard.

 _(End of Flashback)_

The last thing she wanted was to go home with Killian and yet it seemed that she had no choice because that man was her fiancé. W _hy would I choose to be with such a man?_ She was completely confused. Instead, her mind immediately turned towards Regina and her brown eyes. She knew that the brunette had not been telling her the whole truth when it came to their bond. Something else was happening that she didn't understand and she was going to find out what that was. No matter what, Emma Swan was going to find the truth about who Regina and Henry were to her. She just hoped that the answer, once she found it, was one she would like.

SQSQSQSQSQ

"Is Henry alright?" Regina whispered to her the moment Helena finished knocking on her door.

"He is." Helena promised her. "They are at the Inn waiting for us to go get them." she promised the witch. "You were waiting for me."

"Forgive me for being anxious." Regina said sarcastically. "But I am worried about our plan and how it will turn out for us."

"What do you mean?"

"Emma has this ability." she shared. "It can tell her when someone is lying and at first I thought that she would not have it with her Cursed self. Turns out I was mistaken. She knew I was lying to her."

"So what she does not trust you?"

"On the contrary, she does not trust Snow." she smiled darkly. "But she believes Killian because Killian himself believes he is telling the truth."

"Understandable. And Snow is not lying when she says that he is her fiancé because here in Storybrooke they are truly engaged."

"Correct." Regina confirmed.

"With each new thing she does I end up hating that woman more."

"Welcome to the club." Regina muttered while getting inside the SVU. "Do you see that small car right there?" she pointed towards the far left. "That is Tauriel's car."

"So how do we do this?" Helena mussed to herself.

"You are asking me?" Regina shrieked. "I am the person that agreed to the plan because I trusted the three of you."

"Do not worry." Helena took her seatbelt off and got close to Regina who held her breath.

"What are you doing?" she asked while staring at the front of the car.

"We are playing her." Helena whispered. "Do not worry I will not kiss you. But, we have to make her believe that I am kissing you."

"And why is that?" Regina asked when she felt Helena lower her head to her neck. From afar it would look like she was peppering her neck with kisses but instead she was just talking.

"Because in a few minutes we will get out of this car and walk hand in hard towards her car. The moment we get close we will approach and confront her."

"What if she tries to run?"

"I take my Tesla out." Helena smirked and separated from Regina. "Now let us go." she opened the door and waited until Regina stood next to her. "Mind if I grab your hand?" she teased.

"If you must." Regina teased her back. "You better hope Myka does not get jealous."

"She does not get jealous." Helena said saddened while walking.

"That is what you think." Regina chuckled. "But she was jealous of Snow." she shivered. "Whatever you do, do not sleep with that woman."

"I was not intending to do so." Helena said. "Not after the things Henry told me she did."

"Good. Besides, you have to make it up to Myka and flirting with other women is not going to make things better."

"I know that." Helena shrugged. "But being a flirt is my way of showing confidence in myself and my skills."

"I know what you mean." Regina chuckled. "But try to tone it down for a while."

"I will try." Helena winked at her and Regina rolled her eyes. "Ok, now that we are close to her say hi."

Nodding in understanding, Regina lowered herself and noticed Tauriel staring at her in complete shock. "Hi." Regina gave her a soft smile. "How come you are here all by yourself."

"Regina..." the woman looked down. "I was just..." she turned on the car but before she had a chance to move she heard the agent move to stand next to her window.

"Do not even think about it." Helena whispered while pointing at Tauriel with her gun. "Now you will get out of your car slowly and follow us."

"Ok, but don't do anything foolish." Tauriel begged.

"And take your camera and pictures with you." Regina reminded her.

"Ok. What do you want?" she asked Helena since she was holding the weird gun. "You want me to delete the pictures I just took?"

"We want to propose something to you." Helena started. "And we need you to listen to us until the end. After that you can choose if you want to help us or prefer to remain in your situation with Mayor Blanchard."

"I'm listening." Tauriel said interested.

"We want to bring Mayor Blanchard down." Regina said decidedly. "And we are doing so with the help of agents Bering and Wells." she continued. "But we cannot continue doing that if you keep giving her information about us."

"Why does it matter what I give to her? It's just pictures of you going to places."

"Do not try to play us." Helena laughed. "We know that Mayor Blanchard placed you to keep watch on the Jane Doe at the hospital, Regina and now us." she saw that Tauriel was not denying this.

"So what if she did? The woman is superstitious and tends to overreact."

"I know you work for her because she has some sort of dirt on you." Regina said. "If you help us we can make that go away."

"You three know nothing." Tauriel said angrily.

"But we do." Helena continued saying. "Because I am pretty sure you hate working for Mayor Blanchard. You hate it and yet you keep doing it."

"I do it because it is a job."

"You can do that job for someone else." Regina smiled sadly. "Listen, we do not care what Mayor Blanchard has on you. The only thing we care about is taking her out of power."

"And why do you want that?"

"Because if she stays there she will hurt my son Henry and my wife." Regina decided to be honest.

"Your son? Your wife?" Tauriel asked confused. "But you were never married."

"I know it is hard to believe but Henry is my child and that blonde woman in the hospital is my wife. You know this but you do not remember it."

"And why don't I remember this?" Tauriel asked unconvinced.

"Because of a Curse." Helena whispered. "Placed by Mayor Blanchard who wanted all of you to be unhappy. And I know you are."

"That unhappiness is because of me and no one else." Tauriel looked down in shame.

"But Tauriel why do you not believe us? You were happy, you had a husband and children." Regina said. "Thomas and Carla and Evan."

"What?" Tauriel whispered completely saddened. "Don't mock me."

"I am not." Regina promised but then understood everything. "That is why you work for Mayor Blanchard. You had an affair with Thomas, did you not?"

Tauriel looked down in embarrassment.

"There is nothing wrong in the feelings you have for them Tauriel." she promised her guard. "There is nothing wrong in loving them because they are your family."

"But he is married!" Tauriel screamed. "To Evelyne."

"Where we truly come from Evelyne is not their mother. She is a dear friend of yours and acts like an aunt most of the time. That is why your children are close to her. That is why Thomas is seeking you out, because deep inside he knows Evelyne is not his wife. You are."

"You're all telling me these wonderful things." Tauriel cried. "But they can't be true."

"Trust me Tauriel, they are." Regina promised her. "For example, I know that behind your left shoulder you have a very big scar. Am I right?"

"How would you even know that?"

"I remember the day you got it. We were fighting King George's forces and one of his knights tried to kill me. You defended me and because of that almost died yourself. But I healed your wound with magic. Still, a scar always remains because that is the price."

"You must be very good at fencing and self defense." Helena added. "Also, the fact that you can stay up for hours without rest and are very capable of not being scared under pressure is a testament of your training."

"But it can't be." Tauriel murmured.

"Even if it is not you have nothing to lose if you help us." Regina promised. "Since the only thing we want from you is to give little to no information to Mayor Blanchard."

"It would be very suspicious for us to make you quit or not give her anything at all. But we would like to choose what you tell her and when you tell her." Helena added.

"And what is in it for me?"

"Well, if we succeed then you will get your husband and children back." the witch said while smiling softly. "And if you still do not believe us about that then at least you will get your freedom back. No more blackmailing from her."

"What if I refuse your offer and instead take all of what you told me and exchange this information for my freedom?" Tauriel tested them.

"I am afraid we cannot let you do that." Helena said sadly. "And you know deep inside that we would not have told you our plans without a way of keeping them secret were you to not agree."

"So what, you will abduct me?"

"No. We will let you go in five minutes but you will not remember we had this conversation or that you saw us." Helena promised her. "In the end we will get our way. What we are doing right now is being cordial and respecting you because of your background with Regina."

Tauriel turned to look at Regina. "You really believe all of this Regina?"

"I do." Regina said softly. "And I am tired of watching Mayor Blanchard getting away with making people do what she wants. We deserve better than that and we will get her with or without your help." she promised.

"Ok." Tauriel raised her hands and took the pictures out and gave them to Regina. "I will help you." she then deleted the pictures.

"Do not betray us." Helena said strongly. "We will know if you did."

"I will not." Tauriel chuckled. "Not only because I hate Mayor Blanchard but because I know no matter what I do she will always find the way to get what she wants from me. The moment you leave more people will come and this will start all over again. I want to see her gone."

"And she will be gone." Regina promised.

"Good." Tauriel took a card out of her pocket and gave it to Helena. "This is my number. Call me so I can have your number and the next time Mayor Blanchard asks me for pictures we will meet."

"Understood." Helena said while opening the back door of the car. "You can go now."

"Ok." Tauriel nodded and quickly got out of the SVU. "Before I go, are you sure this is a fight you want to start? Mayor Blanchard has plenty of resources and unlike you two, she is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants."

"Obviously Mayor Blanchard does not know us because the two of us are also pretty capable of doing whatever it takes to keep our loved ones safe. That we promise you." Helena said angrily.

"Ok. Just a heads up." Tauriel raised her hands and without giving them another look she got inside her car and drove away.

"How do you feel about this." Regina asked her.

"She has nothing to lose while helping us. And, her hate for Mayor Blanchard is real."

"So as long as we keep Tauriel safe and away from Mayor Blanchard then the more she will help us." Regina realized.

"Indeed." Helena smiled softly. "Now let us go to pick up Myka and Henry and then have a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a very difficult day."


	6. Confessions, a Kiss and a New Deal

**Author's Note:** I know it took a long time but school has been crazy and with the premiere of The 100 I have barely had time to write. Nevertheless, here is a long new chapter that I hope you enjoy. No Beta so all mistakes are mine. Kudos and many thanks for all the favorites and reviews!

* * *

"How was work today?" Myka asked Regina the moment she heard the woman enter the apartment.

"Horrible." Regina whispered while looking around. "Where is Henry?"

"He went to the arcade with Helena. Said he was bored of just waiting around."

"I know he is frustrated." the older brunette muttered while sitting down. "I am getting frustrated as well." she confessed.

It had been one week since Emma woke up from the Curse and they still found themselves in the same situation as before she had been awoken. While Regina had been to the hospital every day during the last week, she knew her wife too well to even consider her being capable of placing her own happiness before the one of others, in this case Killian.

"No progress with Emma?"

"I know a part of her soul recognizes me." Regina murmured. "The problem is that she is so convinced that she is meant to marry that foul prince that she will stay with him even though she does not wish it."

"Why would she do that? If she knew that man didn't make her happy?"

"Because she promised she would. She made a vow and Emma hates to break promises." Regina smiled. "One of the things I love about her."

"So there's no hope then?" Myka asked softly. "I refuse to accept that."

"There is always hope." she said softly. "The key to getting Emma away from Killian, and hence Snow, is to make her realize that she is being lied to."

"But she must know she is because of her superpower."

"Yes, but the thing is that Killian honestly believes that he is meant to marry Emma."

"And that is because of the Curse." Myka understood. "So instead of getting Killian to talk about it we must get her to hear it from Snow."

"The problem is that Snow is clever and she is simply saying that Emma is meant to marry Killian, nothing about loving him or having been previously engaged to him."

"It's terrifying how manipulative that woman is." Myka confessed while staring at Regina. "How did she become this way? I mean, from what Henry told Helena and I she was a relatively good person."

"Good, bad, why label people in these groups?" Regina said quietly. "But yes, before I disappeared Snow was a fair and just person. What happened to her afterwards came as a result of her own fear and greed. Sadly, there was no one there to help her remember her ways and hence she succumbed to darkness. Her husband was too weak and too naive to notice the changes until it was too late. Nevertheless, he did his best to help Emma be the person she is today and I am thankful for that."

"Henry explained to us that the reason he is not here is because of the sacrifice of the Curse. How could she do such a thing? Kill the person she loved the most?"

"She was trapped, thought there was no other way and hoped that sacrifice would give her a better future." Regina answered without hesitating. "Things that I thought when I almost cast the Curse. Trust me dear, when you believe you have nothing to lose you can be capable of doing the most terrible things."

"I can understand that. Hell, I have done some terrible things during my time as an agent." she confided in Regina. "But I'm afraid that kind of sacrifice I'm not capable of understanding."

"Because you have not been hopeless. I am not claiming that your life has been easy or that you have not lost a loved one." she appeased the curly brunette who seemed ready to argue. "But you still had something to hold you up, to keep you going. I am sure you will find that you know people that have not been so lucky."

"Helena." she whispered sadly. "And you."

"Our dark past is one thing that seems to unite Helena and I." she chuckled. "One common thing we can understand is the hopelessness of losing everything in life. That my dear is something I would now not even wish on my worst enemy."

"I have noticed Helena confiding more in you." she whispered, for the first time admitting the hopelessness she was feeling. "There is another thing I need to ask." Myka decided to just be blunt. "Do you know why Helena is avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you?"

"Yes, after we confessed our feelings, or in my case my feelings, for one another she has not talked to me alone. In fact, she avoids to be alone with me and it's getting on my nerves."

"It is not because she does not trust you." Regina understood too well what was happening between the two agents. "It is just that she thinks that by telling you of her past you will see her differently to the way you see her now."

"But that's not true!" Myka said angrily. "I love her." she said sadly. "No matter what she tells me that will not change."

"I know that." Regina smiled sadly. "And that is why I am telling you to be patient. Give her time to learn that she can come to you, that she can trust you with the darkest parts of herself. Because I know she is trying."

"Because she told you?"

"Because I was just like her when I first met Emma." Regina chuckled. "And with 9 years of marriage, well 13 if you count this last 4 years, I still have not told Emma every single thing I did during my time as the Evil Queen."

"And she's not angry or upset with you?"

"She understood that it always scared me to remember those days. And she did what she did best and instead of pushing me to say every little thing she encouraged me to do it at my own pace. Each time I told her something I became so terrified of losing her, of having her take Henry far away from me. Of being alone after having experienced the joy of love and family." the older brunette smiled warmly. "But she never left me, never judged me or my sins. Some times she said she even understood why I did the things I did. Those times I wondered how I had turned out to be so lucky in meeting and having such a wonderful wife."

"She sounds wonderful." Myka agreed with Regina immediately. "I can't imagine how much you must miss her."

"It is hard, especially when I see and speak to her every day." Regina looked down in order to hide her tears. "And with Snow keeping her eyes on me like a hawk it has become harder to remain calm and compliant."

"Does she suspect of you?"

"I do not think so. But she is becoming paranoid and hence is trying to keep everything under control."

"Paranoid?"

"She is noticing the changes in the town, the Curse is weakening."

"So that gives us hope!" Myka said excitedly. "Right?"

"Indeed, it means that somehow Emma is being more hesitant of what Killian and Snow are telling her."

"Then why if these things are happening you are still afraid Emma won't leave him?" Myka asked but didn't need to hear an answer from Regina because she understood too well what the older brunette was thinking. "You think she won't choose to leave him."

"I know that Queen Emma of the Dark and White Kingdom is my Truest Love. I know that Emma White, Champion of the Dark Kingdom, is my Truest Love. I know that Emma Swan, runaway princess, is my Truest Love. But I do not know if Emma Swan, citizen of Storybrooke, is my Truest Love."

"So you don't love her then, this version of herself."

"Of course I love her!" Regina said angrily. "Why do you think it is so painful for me to even go see her at the hospital?"

"If you love her then she loves you. It is as simple as that." Myka smiled warmly.

"Love is not as simple as that."

"Regular love is not. But the one you have, the one that comes from a land of magic and fairytales, that one is as simple as that."

"I hope you are right." Regina whispered sadly. "Because I do not know how long I will be able to go and smile at Emma when all I want is to take her out of there and keep her with me."

"Understandable. But you must be strong Regina, for Henry and Emma. They need your strength now more than ever."

"Henry..." Regina looked at Myka. "Tell me Myka, now that we are alone, how did you find Henry? And do not try to lie to me about it please."

"He was alright Regina. He was not in a wonderful place but he was safe and had just experienced for the first time the harshness of our world. And now that I think about it, what a coincidence that this happened now and not sooner or later."

"So he was not harmed?"

"No Regina, only what he happened to see before we got to him. But even that didn't shock him as much as we thought it would. Said things in your world were similar to what had happened to that man."

"And Henry's trial, he will need to go testify?"

"Yes, he is expected to go but I don't know when or where." Myka confessed.

"And he is in danger." Regina stated.

"He will be until his testimony helps put behind bars the people that committed the crime." the curly brunette was honest. "But we are safe here in Storybrooke, you said so yourself. No one that doesn't know where Storybrooke is can find it."

"I am worried about what will happen once you leave Storybrooke. I have not told this to Henry but Emma and I cannot leave this town. If we do bad things will happen to us, physically preventing us from leaving."

"So you're all stuck here?" Myka asked horrified.

"At least until the Curse breaks. And even after that happens I am not sure we will be able to cross the border without repercussions."

"So you're not only scared about Henry leaving but you're also scared that someone will be able to come in after the Curse breaks."

"Yes." Regina looked at Myka. "The problem with this Curse is that only the Dark One knows the mechanics of it."

"Maybe we should question him about it."

"And risk having him tell Snow this? It is too risky."

"But unless we do something we will be stuck here with Snow White attempting to kill you. Anyway, not doing anything is also risky."

"I considered that." Regina hesitated. "But I do not know what we can give the Dark One in order for him to aid us."

"Give?"

"A deal dear. The Dark One only aids, and aid is not even the correct word to explain his actions, unless you offer him something in exchange."

"He wanted to come here for a reason. We just have to find out what this reason is and offer him a deal he can't refuse."

"Remember that we cannot leave this town."

"You can't, but Helena and I can." Myka said excitedly. "Think about it, he has been doing Snow's bidding for years and yet I imagine this is not what he wanted when he came here. I bet that he is in a similar situation to ours: He wants to leave but he can't."

"And he wants to leave because he needs to find someone who came to this world." Regina realized what Myka was trying to say. "Just like we did with Henry all those years ago."

"Exactly." Myka smiled happily. "So if we go to him and offer him to find this person he is looking for then we will be able to find out more about this Curse."

"That is an option we now have in case our initial plan does not work." Regina said. "Because trust me, I do not want to involve myself or our cause with the Dark One. Nothing good comes out of dealing with him. In fact, that is why we are now in this situation." she muttered angrily.

"Where are you going?" Myka asked her when a couple of minutes later Regina came out of her room with a new set of clothes.

"To visit Emma of course." she smiled sadly. "As her wife it is my duty to be by her side every day, no matter how much it pains me to do so." she finished solemnly and left Myka alone in the apartment.

SQSQSQSQ

Emma Swan had never been as confused as she was now. Things were not making any sense and each day that went by just made her have more questions unanswered. For the life of her she was trying to remember her past with Killian, trying to remember the many things and memories he kept alluding to without any result. The doctors had explained to her that this was one of the results of the coma, that it was possible for her to lose her memory and that perhaps in time it would come back. Killian kept insisting on taking her home and that being there would probably help her remember. Still, every time he mentioned this she grew terrified of the moment she would be asked to leave the hospital. It was irrational of her to not want to leave with her fiancé but that was what she was feeling. She felt no connection to him, she could not see anything in him that called to her and that made her question her state of mind when she became her fiancé. Why was it so hard for her to love this man that seemed desperate enough to want her? It saddened her to see how much he was trying to make her like him, make her be comfortable and safe. And yet she felt none of these things with him. Not only had he been lying on some things, but the woman he always came with, Mayor Blanchard, made Emma be wary of the things they kept telling her. For some strange reason this woman was too invested in their relationship, in what they would do after Emma left the hospital and tying the knot as soon as possible. It made her feel uncomfortable, and from what she could see on Killian's face, he was also displeased with the woman's presence. Yet each time he came to see her they talked for a while until Mayor Blanchard entered the room to continue talking about wedding preparations and rituals that Emma honestly didn't care anything about. The hospital and her coma had been her saving grace from leaving but now time was no longer on her side. She had heard some nurses discuss her case earlier and they were mentioning that she was as good as possible considering the situation. She would need to continue with her physical therapy but since she had her fiancé he would be capable of bringing her to the hospital for her sessions.

Hearing the nurses talk about her leaving this hospital was what led Emma to think about her situation and what would happen. She was not happy with Killian, but she had been before, right? And if she was, could she ever be happy again? With him? In all honesty Emma did not see that happening and it just made her feel more helpless. She closed her eyes in an attempt to make herself remember, to make herself see what everyone else kept seeing in Killian: the faithful and dedicated fiancé. Instead, what she saw was beautiful brown eyes staring deeply at her. She knew those eyes very well, she had found herself hypnotized by them each time them their owner visited her. Regina, the name came to her like a melody, like an endless song that she was meant to sing and adore. Every time she saw the brunette she was mesmerized by her beauty, one that Regina knew she possessed and yet did not flaunt obsessively. She could see that Regina was a person that cared about her appearance and that she enjoyed dressing up. While Emma was not like that, she appreciated that Regina took the time to prepare herself for the day and perhaps prepare herself for Emma. It had been impossible for Emma to not notice the emotions the brunette experienced, especially since the only thing she focused on was her eyes. Each day Regina came to her room Emma noticed the small smile on her face, one that was saddened by some reason that the blonde was desperate to know. She cared about Regina, she craved her company and her presence in her life. It was strange how much this woman meant to her and a part of her knew that her feelings were reciprocated. Emma had seen Regina's eyes focusing on her lips, following their contour and then quickly moving towards another place in the room.

Their attraction was real, of that she was certain because Emma was not a stupid woman. She felt attracted to Regina and to imagine her with someone else, that older woman that always came to the hospital to pick her up, made Emma be filled with jealousy and then shame. She was ashamed of herself because she already had a fiancé and here she was desiring another woman. She was being selfish with Regina because she could see that for some reason the brunette was not giving up on her, that she kept coming back. But with each time she came back her eyes seemed more determined and calm, almost accepting of their situation and willing to just go with it. Emma, meanwhile, had not been so calm after realizing her feelings for Regina, which were reconfirmed by the way Killian started acting the moment he heard she was going to be released soon. By the end of each visit of his Emma kept on thinking that the two of them had no common interests, no fantastic experiences and although she could see that he was attractive, no desire for him. It was as if the two of them were just good friends and not future husband and wife. And yet here he was telling her about the planning of the wedding, how many people they were going to invite and how thankful he was at getting another chance with her. In fact, his sudden obsession with the marriage made Emma wonder if the marriage was just a business transaction for him. One influenced by the pressure of Mayor Blanchard who each day became more intense and obsessed with her. Did he have something to gain out of it? At times like this it was when she cursed her amnesia since it failed to provide her the answers she was looking for. Besides, it seemed that almost everyone was just as oblivious as she was. No one remembered too much about her apart from being a coma patient, which is something that should be almost impossible in a town as small as Storybrooke. Not only that, but every time she mentioned the name of the mayor people immediately finished their conversation with her and left her to her own devices. This only helped her confirm that there was something going on with the mayor and that her intentions may not be as pure as she wanted them to look like. In fact, she still remembered Killian's responses when she asked him about her involvement in finding her earlier today.

 _(Flashback)_

"There's been something bothering me." Emma started and Killian chuckled. "I'm being serious."

"Well, you just woke up from a coma and you have amnesia Emma. I would assume many things would bother you."

Emma chuckled softly because he was right. Having amnesia was annoying and bothersome. "Apart from my amnesia. I was just wondering why it took you so long to find me."

"I was looking for you." he promised her. "You must understand Emma that the last time we spoke to each other it wasn't a pleasurable conversation." he looked down in shame. "And you said that you needed to think things over and to not contact you. To wait until you calmed down. After many weeks without hearing from you I decided to reach out. That was when you didn't answer your phone and since then I have been looking. But of course, since you said you were leaving I didn't know where to look for or the fact that you were still in Storybrooke."

"What about posting my picture on the news or I don't know, starting your search in Storybrooke?" Emma said annoyed. _Could he really be that stupid?_

"Because you don't have family in Storybrooke." he said exasperated. "But listen, that's not important anymore. The important thing is that I found you and that we are together again."

"What did we fight about?" Emma asked him. So their engagement was not as good as he wanted her to believe. _Stupid amnesia._

"I can't remember Emma." _That's a lie._

"We both know you're lying." she said angrily. "So why don't you try telling me the truth instead."

"Ok, relax." Killian tried to calm her. "We fought because you wanted more time before we got married."

"More time? Why did I ask for that?" Emma said suspiciously.

"I don't know Emma. You told me that you were not completely sure about marrying me and that you needed time to think."

"And let me guess, you didn't like this." she huffed.

"Well of course not. We had the church and priest already set up for the wedding. You were having cold feet and for nothing." he started raising his voice.

"For nothing?" Emma laughed. "Killian, we were getting married. That does not mean nothing. In fact, for some people it means everything." she looked at the man in front of her and couldn't stop herself from feeling sorry for him. "Listen, I want to thank you for looking for me during all these years. And to apologize for whatever it was I did."

"I already forgave you Emma. I love you." _That's a lie._

"No you don't." she decided to the blunt. "And I don't know why you want to marry me since you obviously don't love me. So instead of being forced to remain by my side, I release you from any duty you have towards me."

"What do you mean?" Killian asked confused.

 _He is not very smart,_ she huffed in annoyance. "It means that I don't want to marry you anymore."

"What?!" Killain screamed in anger. "You can't do this to me Emma, I just found you."

"I can and I will." Emma said firmly. "I'm sorry but everything you have told me has been a lie. You don't love me, you didn't look for me and yet here you're telling me all of these lies. Because of that, and apart from the fact that I don't love you, I refuse to be your wife."

"But..." Killian started to mutter. "I do love you."

"Lie again." she smiled softly.

"But you need someone to help you recover, somewhere to go after you leave the hospital." he tried to argue.

"I was an orphan." she chuckled. "I'm used to being alone and to surviving all by myself." she promised him. "No strings attached."

"Listen Emma, I know you're confused and that's why I will not push you." Killian said. "I will give you space and when you remember things and what we had I'll wait for your call." he gave her a dashing smile.

"Ok Killian." she placated him while she watched him leave. "Although I'm sure there's nothing to remember." she whispered and closed her eyes in contemplation.

 _(End of Flashback)_

Now that she was all by herself and had time to consider her decision she realized that it had been the best for both. She had done the best for her and had not broken any promise or commitment she had because it was all built on a lie. Or perhaps it wasn't before but now it was. She was not the same woman that had promised to marry Killian and hence she shouldn't be tied to the promises that woman made. Apart from the fact that Killian didn't care much about her decision, sentimentally speaking, she couldn't continue with her current path. She couldn't do this anymore and she had to stop living a lie, no matter how scared of being rejected this made her feel. She closed her eyes in contempt, trying to think of what to do, of where to go. She really had no one in this town, no one who would help her during this time of need. _But there is someone,_ her subconscious whispered and Emma opened her eyes in surprise. She couldn't do that to Regina, she couldn't abuse of the feelings, strange feelings but very welcomed feelings, this woman seemed to have for her. _But you're free, now you can be with her._ But could she be with Regina? To desire someone physically was completely different to wanting to be with that person. Desire was easy, temporary and definitive. Something more was difficult, not temporary and unknown. And one thing that terrified Emma Swan was the unknown. She was scared of the future and what it would mean to her, scared of taking that extra step out of her comfort zone and just let all her inhibitions loose.

"Am I interrupting?" Emma opened her eyes when she heard the wonderful and melodious voice of Regina Mills.

"Regina..." the blonde whispered while giving her a bright smile. "Of course not, come in please." she motioned towards the chair right next to her bed. "It's so nice to see you."

"Likewise." Regina smiled brightly at her. "And without the prin..., without the fiancé." she corrected herself. "That is indeed strange."

"Ex-fiancé." Emma muttered.

"What?" Regina asked in complete shock and hope.

"I couldn't do it Regina. I don't know why but something was stopping me from being with him." she begged for understanding. "I know I made him a promise but the woman that did that promise is no longer me."

"I understand Emma." the brunette got closer and grabbed her hand. "And even if I did not understand your decision no one has the right to judge you for making it."

"I feel so lost and confused." she confessed while looking at their entwined hands. "What should make sense doesn't and what shouldn't make sense does."

"What do you mean Emma?"

"I feel many things." she whispered. "For you." Emma gulped. "And I don't know why or how, I mean I barely know you." she laughed humorlessly. "But I can't stop myself. Just thinking of the possibility of having something with you makes more sense than an established relationship with Killian. I mean, isn't that ridiculous?"

"It is not." Regina said while staring at Emma and it made the blonde's heart beat faster when she noticed brown eyes focusing on her, how they longed to be close to her and yet Regina didn't do anything more than continue to grab her hand. "It is not because I feel the same things for you Emma."

"But we just met." Emma tried to be realistic.

"And yet you know that I am not lying to you." she gave the younger woman a hopeful smile.

"No you're not." Emma replied while looking at the brunette. "Which makes me wonder what is going on."

"It is complicated." Regina said while avoiding eye contact. "And I know that is a weak answer but it is the only one I can offer you without making myself sound completely insane."

"Try me. I will know if you're lying or not."

"We both know that just because I believe something is true that does not mean that it _has_ to be the truth." Regina gave her a sad smile. "Although I wished it were that easy."

"But I want to understand why you seem to know everything about me Regina! Damn it, you even know about the limitations of my superpower!" Emma was getting upset.

"Would it suffice you to know what we met before your coma?" Regina said and Emma knew she was telling the truth.

"Were we close?" Emma whispered.

"Immensely close Emma." Regina whispered sadly. "You were my world." _Not a lie._

"Then why didn't you come find me?" Emma asked dejectedly. "If I meant that much to you, why didn't you come?"

"I didn't know you were here Emma." _Truth._ "But believe me that the moment I realized who you were it was the moment I promised to never leave you, not again." _Truth._

"Which is why you came everyday even if it hurt you to watch me with Killian." Emma now understood more. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because it would have been selfish of me to mention our past without you remembering it. Selfish because it would have influenced you in making a decision concerning Killian." _Truth._

"And you were willing to see me marry Killian? Something that would have clearly hurt you?"

"If that was what made you happy then yes Emma. Your happiness means everything to me." _Truth._

"Do you love me Regina?" Emma whispered while staring at deep brown eyes.

"Yes." Regina whispered. _Truth._

"I'm so confused." Emma closed her eyes. "I feel things Regina, immense feelings. But I don't know what they are, not yet." she begged for understanding.

"I know Emma, and I do not blame you." Regina gave her a sad smile.

"And you still love me knowing that I may not return your feelings?" Emma asked surprised.

"Yes Emma, I will always love you." _Truth._

"But that sounds so unfair." Emma whispered.

"Perhaps it is now." the brunette woman said while getting closer to Emma. "But I have hope. I must have hope."

"Hope in what?"

"In that in time you will see in me the same things I see, saw and will continue to see in you."

Emma closed her eyes to prevent herself from crying. Here was this beautiful woman confessing a love the blonde felt she didn't deserve. She had feelings for Regina, that was not a lie, but they were not as deep or as powerful as the ones the brunette had for her. But she wanted to have them, damn it she wanted so much to have them. But would she develop them? And would it be fair for Regina to wait for her when their future was so uncertain? Could she ask this of Regina? Or was that too selfish of her?

"Emma..." Regina interrupted her with an understanding smile. "Just because I feel these things for you that does not mean that I expect you to feel them too. In fact, it would be hypocritical of me and of you to fake them."

"And we wouldn't want that." Emma chuckled.

"Of course not." Regina winked at her.

"But I want to feel them." Emma said seriously. "I want to love you just as much as you love me."

"I have had a long time to develop these feelings Emma, you have not." Regina caressed her cheek and Emma felt fire in the touch, craving immediately more.

"So what does that mean? I mean, for us?" Emma asked the question that terrified her the most.

"It means whatever you want it to mean Emma. You have the final say."

"So if I tell you that I don't want to see you again you will let me go?" Emma asked.

"It would pain me to do so, but yes, I would." _Truth._

"Good thing I don't want it either." Emma smiled and pulled Regina closer to her. "I want to try Regina. I will make mistakes, I will want to run or to question what we feel for the other. But believe me when I tell you that I want to try."

"I believe you." Regina whispered and softly closed the distance between the two of them, giving Emma enough time to move if she didn't want to be kissed.

What happened instead was that Emma closed the contact and soft lips met in a coordinated kiss. Regina closed her eyes and felt tears falling from her eyes. This was really happening, her Emma was slowly making her way back to her, to them and here was the proof. The hopelessness and despair she had experienced earlier was dissipating with each stroke of Emma's lips against her own. She could feel the way the blonde woman wanted her to stay close, not strong enough hands grasping her shirt and preventing her from moving away. But Emma didn't know that there was no way Regina was going to stop, not now when it had been years since she had tasted the lips of her wife, her Truest Love. Humming in happiness and joy, Regina moved her tongue and swiped at the blonde's lips, asking for permission to deepen their kiss.

Emma was in cloud 9, Regina's lips were even better than what she had imagined and a small part of her was embarrassed by her obvious desperation. Nevertheless, she didn't care because this kiss felt so right. The two of them were moving in tandem, in sync with one another and knowledgeable of what made each one of them hum in enjoyment. It was obvious that the two of them had kissed previously and it made her heart soar in excitement to know that a subconscious part of her had not forgotten what Regina liked. She groaned when she felt a hesitant tongue moving on top of her lips, silently begging for entrance and hesitating to just go ahead until given permission. Emma immediately opened her mouth and moaned softly when she felt Regina's tongue clash with her own. There was no awkwardness between the two of them, no weird clanking of teeth or positioning of the face or strange bump of noses. Instead, it was as if the two were performing a choreographed dance that they had mastered with practice and time.

Nevertheless, the two of them reached a point where oxygen was needed, so with sadness and a groan the two women separated and stared at the other. What they saw in the other was similar to what they were experiencing inside of themselves: An animalistic desire and passion that demanded to be unleashed. Emma was moving to again attack Regina's lips but a knock on the door made Regina give her a soft smile while making space between the two of them. Groaning in anger Emma laid back on the bed and said that she was ready.

"Good evening Miss Swan." the nurse smiled warmly at her and she either didn't notice the way they were breathing or decided to not make it her business. "Hi Regina."

"Joy." Regina smiled softly.

"I'm here to let Miss Swan know that she is ready to go home." she gave Emma a bright smile. "As we told you earlier, you would have to come to the hospital so that you can continue your therapy, but apart from that there is nothing more we can do for you."

"You are being released?" Regina asked Emma with a bright smile.

"Yes." Emma said while thanking Joy who understood the message clearly and left them alone. "I knew that I didn't want to go to Killian's house and that's why I broke our engagement."

"Where will you stay?" Regina asked the obvious question.

"I don't know yet." Emma murmured. "I was actually thinking about all of that until you came and gave me better things to think about." the blonde flirted and Regina chuckled.

"If I know something about you Emma is that you always do things without an alternate plan." she laughed when she saw the blonde was giving her the finger. "And not only that but you need someone to bring you to your therapy."

"I have no one here." Emma whispered. "I'm an orphan and I have no relatives in Storybrooke."

"You have me Emma." Regina vowed. "I will always be there for you."

"Because you love me?" Emma asked with a soft smile on her face. She loved to hear the brunette remind her of her feelings.

"Because I love you." Regina confirmed knowing what Emma was trying to do.

She knew because this was a recurring theme with her wife. _She is coming back to me,_ she smiled in relief. Although she had a small hope that their kiss would work, she knew that Emma did not love her yet. They were not Truest Loves, yet. But they could be, and they would be based on the quickness of their developing feelings. _Just like it was when I first met you Emma,_ Regina thought amusedly.

"Which is why you will come and stay at my apartment." Regina said determined.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose."

"Nothing will make me happier than having you stay with me Emma. Believe me."

"I believe you." Emma said because she knew that Regina was telling her the truth.

"But we will not be alone. I have some friends also staying with me, which I hope is ok with you." Regina remembered immediately about her son and friends.

"I'm sure I won't mind. Do I know them?" Emma then laughed. "Ok, stupid question because I barely know people thanks to my amnesia."

"You do know them." Regina laughed. "It's agents Bering and Wells along with Henry, the kid they are taking care of." _Who is our son,_ she finished the last part mentally.

"Agent Wells?" Emma asked and immediately she felt herself be filled with jealousy. "She's staying at your apartment?"

"They all needed a place to stay and I had the space." Regina smirked when she noticed the way green eyes stared longingly at her. Her wife was jealous of Helena. "And I have grown to care about Henry, he is wonderful company."

"And Agent Wells?" Emma couldn't stop herself from asking. _She was jealous._

"Worried about her own love dilemma with Agent Bering."

"Love dilemma?"

"Yes dear, the two women are desperately in love and none do anything about it. It is at times very frustrating to see." she joked while appeasing her wife.

"Oh, I can imagine." Emma said completely relieved. "Why don't they do anything about their feelings?"

"Fear." Regina shrugged her shoulders. "Of being rejected once they confess what they feel. Love is very scary, more so when one does not know if it is reciprocated by the person you love."

"Are you talking about me?" Emma asked softly.

"No dear. I have hope that what you feel for me can grow to become more." Regina promised the blonde. "And that will only happen after getting to know each other."

"I want to know more about you Regina. I want to know everything."

"Everything?" the brunette teased her.

"Yes, I can't stop thinking about you. I actually think it's not healthy the obsession I have developed for you."

"Emma Swan you are such a charmer." Regina smiled brightly.

"I have my moments." Emma winked at her. "Now, come here and kiss me more before the nurse comes back with my release papers." the blonde said seductively and Regina didn't refuse her.

SQSQSQSQ

"Mr. Jones." an angry Snow said while sitting next to the man who took another drink from the bottle. "Why are you here drowning yourself in alcohol while your fiancé is being released this evening?"

"Ex-fiance." the man murmured and took another large gulp of the drink.

"What?" Snow asked in complete shock.

"She left me." he smirked at the mayor. "Realized that we were lying to her and hence told me to leave her alone."

"And you left!" Snow hissed loudly. "That wasn't part of our deal."

"Our deal was for me to fake being Emma's fiance and marry her. I delivered and I was ready to walk down the aisle." he laughed. "Nothing was said about Emma breaking our engagement. Hence, I did my part. Now you do yours."

"The deal was for you to marry Emma idiot! And now she knows that you were lying to her! Did you say something?"

"I didn't." he promised. "I liked the blonde and wouldn't have minded bedding her. Trust me, someone else told her or she found out by herself."

"She has amnesia! How could she have known that you two were not together?"

"Perhaps she remembered?" he asked her.

"No she didn't." Snow said surely. "Something else happened and I intend to find out right now."

"But our deal." Killian said upset.

"You will not get anything from me until you marry Emma Swan." Snow promised him with a dark smile. "So go home, have a shower and sober yourself up and then meet me at the hospital so we can pick Emma up."

"Delusional woman, she won't come with us!" Killian said exasperated. "Why are you so invested in getting that poor woman married to a man who doesn't love her?"

"Because if she doesn't then I'm doomed." Snow murmured and then looked at the man in front of her. "And if you want your precious boats to enter their illegal stuff through my port then you better be damn convincing of your love for Emma."

"Yes Mayor Blanchard." he said dutifully and left the bar. _There is no way Emma will believe me, not with the way she realized we were lying to her._

Snow was angry. Things were not going according to plan and now Emma was out of her grasp and control. Something had happened and she was upset because she had no idea of what happened exactly. She was supposed to be the mayor and know everything that happened in her town. Yet here she was driving like a madwoman to the hospital in hope of fixing things. Stupid prince and his tedious friendship with her daughter. Snow was almost sure that this is what led Emma into breaking her engagement, the fact that she saw the man more as a friend than a husband.

Turning the car off, Snow quickly entered the hospital and walked straight towards the room of her daughter. Controlling her breath and trying to appear as peaceful and warm as possible, she knocked and opened the door after doing so. Instead of finding a blonde woman in the bed she saw that it was empty and neatly done. Entering the room she quickly checked the bathroom and closet, getting more upset by each passing minute. _Where was she?!,_ Snow wanted to scream in anger and hate. Fuming around the room one last time, the mayor closed the door loudly and made her way towards the nurse's desk.

"Mayor Blanchard what can I do for you?" a nurse with brown hair asked her.

"Patient Miss Swan is not in her room and I was wondering why that was since I know her fiance is preparing to come pick her up?"

"Miss Swan signed her release papers a few hours ago and left with Miss Mills." the nurse informed her.

"Say that again?" Snow murmured.

"She left with Miss Mills." the nurse repeated carefully.

"And you allowed her to go?!" Snow screamed.

"There was nothing wrong with her paperwork and she adhered to hospital policies." the nurse whispered.

"You incompetent and inept people!" Snow screamed and hit the vase that was on top of the desk to the floor while turning around and leaving the shocked hospital crew staring at her.

This was not right, this was not right. Snow was fuming with anger and hate. Why was the Evil Queen the one getting Emma from the hospital? There was no way Regina remembered her wife and yet against all odds the two of them were growing closer. Something she had no understanding of was going on and she had no way of answering all of these questions. She needed to stop the two women from getting closer. Closing her eyes in contemplation, Snow took out her phone and dialed a number that she didn't want to dial.

"Mr. Gold." Snow said when the Dark One answered. "I require to meet with you immediately."

 _"At this late hour?"_ the man teased her. _"Whatever is the urgent matter?"_

"One that has to do with Regina Mills and Emma Swan." she answered him.

 _"They don't interest me Mayor Blanchard."_ the Imp smirked. _"Why would I get involved in something that is obviously not my business?"_

"Because I will give you something in exchange of your help." she promised him.

 _"Interesting."_ the man muse. _"But the price will not be cheap."_

"It never is with you Mr. Gold." Snow muttered angrily. "So will you come meet with me?"

 _"I will meet you at your office tomorrow morning."_

"It has to be now!" she said exasperated.

 _"And I'm telling you that it will be tomorrow. And since you called me I assume I'm the only person capable of helping you. Hence, you need me more than I need you. So be a good girl and go to sleep until tomorrow."_ he teased her.

"I will..." Snow started to threatened him.

 _"Tsst, tsst."_ the man joked. _"I wouldn't finish that threat if I were you Mayor Blanchard, not unless you want to find yourself alone in your newest endeavor."_

Snow closed her eyes in anger and hate, trying to control her emotions.

"Seems that it is the best to meet tomorrow morning." she agreed with hatred.

 _"Wonderful."_ the Imp smirked. _"Until tomorrow."_ he hung up and Snow closed her eyes in sorrow. Her plan was failing.

SQSQSQSQ

"That was the Mayor." the Dark One told his guests while getting closer to them. "Calling me just as you told me she would."

"Why would we lie to you?" Helena asked while taking a cup of tea and drinking from it.

"Why would you come to me?" he asked them.

"Because Mayor Blanchard is dependent on you." Myka answered him while standing behind Helena. "And our suspicions were true because she just called you to ask for help."

"And why shouldn't I help her?"

"Because we know you are tired of being her puppet, Dark One." Helena said firmly while placing her cup on the table. "And we have something to offer you too, something way better than what she could ever give you."

"And what is that dear?" the Dark One bowed slowly and smirked at them. _So it seems that Snow White's suspicions were not incorrect._

"You will not aid Snow White in her quest to separate Regina and Emma." Myka started. "You will in fact tell her nothing that could help her prevent the Curse from breaking."

"So you assume I want the Curse to be broken." he tested them.

"We know you do." Helena replied surely. "And we know so because just like Regina and Emma lost their son to this world you also lost someone you care about."

"You know nothing about what I have lost!" he said angrily.

"And we don't care about knowing who or why." Myka interrupted him. "But we care about your involvement in aiding Snow White. Which is why we are offering you this deal once. You can't leave this town until the Curse breaks, correct?"

"For being mere mortals you seem to know a lot about magic." he said suspiciously.

"We have our sources." Helena replied tersely. "But we also have something that you do not have, and that is the freedom of leaving Storybrooke."

"So what? Once the Curse breaks I will be capable of leaving as well."

"Are you sure?" Myka asked him with a dark smile. "And are you willing to bet on that?"

"Tell me your offer." he muttered angrily.

"You will stay away from Regina, Emma and their family." Helena said without naming Henry. "And that includes Snow." she reminded him. "And in exchange the moment the Curse breaks we will aid you in finding the person you are looking for."

"And how will I know you will keep your deal and not leave Storybrooke without coming back."

"A contract, of course." Myka said. "And we are not stupid either so we bet you must have some way of binding us to this deal. You wouldn't be called the Dark One if you didn't come prepared."

"You two are very smart women." he complimented them. "But before we agree to this, do the Queens of the Dark and White Kingdom know you two are doing this?"

"That is for you to not know." Helena said without giving him anything. "So do we have a deal?"

"We do." the Dark One said while getting a paper and a pen. "One that will be signed and agreed by the three of us."


	7. Admissions, Encounters and Plans

**Author's Note:** I know it has been quite some time, but life has been busy and other stories deviated me from this one. But I promised to finish this story, and already I have done 2 chapters! Thank you all for your continuous support and I hope you still remember what this one is about. Kudos and comments are always welcomed.

PS: This is the part 2 of the story Heroes and Villains. You should definitely read that one before starting this story.

* * *

Moving frantically from one side of the room to the other, Snow had tried to do everything in order to forget today's fiasco. After she had finished her call with Gold, she had immediately poured herself a strong drink, wishing for it to make effect. She had 4 of those, which then made her use her phone to call Anthony. Being with the man was a sweet torture, one that included satisfactory sex and contentment with knowing that the man had been one of Regina's closest allies. Perhaps it was some sort of divine justice; the Curse allowing her to use all the people that were responsible for her reign's demise against the people responsible for it.

 _All except Emma,_ she couldn't help herself from thinking bitterly.

It had not taken much to learn that Emma had left the hospital with Regina. It also didn't take much of an incentive to get one of the nurses to tell her that she suspected that the two women liked each other. These were troubling news; but nevertheless, since they were still in this realm, that meant that they didn't remember each other. Still, she knew how powerful true love could be, and she also knew that it wouldn't take much time until Emma and Regina fell in love yet again.

And she couldn't let that happen.

Gold was a person that could help her with this. In fact, he had been the one she had contacted as soon as Emma woke up, offering him some territories from Storybrooke in exchange for paperwork that proved that Killian had been engaged to Emma. Because if there was one thing that Snow knew very well was how much promises affected her daughter and how she honored them. That's why Emma never promised her to marry Prince Killian and how she had been capable of leaving the White Kingdom. Of course, Snow knew that the more she involved Gold, the more questions and power the man would hold over her. But then again, relinquishing some houses and buildings in order to maintain everyone in this realm was worth it.

But then again that didn't work exactly to plan.

No, Snow had to be more cunning and direct in her approach against Emma and Regina. She had to involve other players who could assuage and guilt them from being together. Because as much as she hated herself from admitting it, both Emma and Regina were honorable enough to risk their own happiness in exchange of the one of others. And that was the key of her new plan. Gold had control over the territory of Storybrooke since he owned most of the town. While Snow held the power politically speaking, Gold could be very capable of forcing the people to abandon their houses if he so wished. And that power was the one Snow needed right now.

If Emma was going to stay at Regina's, then Snow was going to make it impossible for them to remain in the same space. Making Regina become homeless was just an added consequence.

Stepping away from the window, Snow made her way back inside her room. All of the planning and preparation for the next stage of her revenge had left her completely restless. In order to get more sleep, she needed to relax and let loose all that pent-up tension she sensed to have. And, the man that was sleeping on her bed could be a good way to do so.

SQSQSQSQ

"So this is it." Regina said to Emma the moment she opened the door to her apartment. "I know it's not much but..."

"It's perfect." Emma promised her while looking around.

Although the place was small, it was well decorated and had tasteful colors, matching Regina's personality perfectly.

"Thank you." the brunette said softly while moving further inside and closing the door. "Although we may be a little tight since Helena, Myka and Henry are staying here."

"The agents right?" the blonde asked curiously. "If you don't mind me asking, how come they're staying here? I know Storybrooke is not a famous stop or something like that but even small towns have inns."

"It does have one. Granny runs the Bed and Breakfast." Regina admits while quickly thinking of a reason to explain the presence of her friends and son. "They're staying here in order to make Henry feel as welcomed as possible." _which was not a lie._ "He recently went through a very traumatic event and we're trying to make things as normal as possible for him."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Emma says immediately. "When we talked during your visits he seemed fine."

"He's a very resilient child." she says proudly.

"You care about him."

"Yes I do." she admits because it's the truth. "And the agents taking care of him are also very good women. They're doing their best to protect him from extra harm."

"That's nice to hear." Emma tells her. "That there are people out there that care like that." she turns away from Regina. "I mean look at me, I was in a hospital during all this time and neither my ex-fiancé nor you could find me."

"Emma..." Regina says softly. "It's complicated."

"You already told me that in the hospital." the blonde whispers dejectedly. "And I believed you when you told me that you didn't know where I was. But, where you even looking for me?"

"Look at me Emma." the brunette tells her surely. "Look at my eyes so you realize I am not lying to you when I tell you that even if I didn't know where you were my heart and soul were desperately trying to get close to you, to find you."

 _She's not lying,_ her superpower tells her right away and this relaxes her.

"Then why is this so complicated?!" Emma groans while separating from Regina. "And why can't you just tell me the truth?"

"Because it would change your perception of me, of our relationship." _truth._ "It wouldn't be based on your true feelings for me." _truth._ "And the last thing I wish to do is to manipulate or coerce you into something you may not want." _truth._

"I know." Emma closes her eyes dejectedly. "Doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't." Regina smiles warmly and it breaks Emma's heart.

"I just wish you could tell me." she whispers softly. "Because although my mind does not recollect you, my heart hasn't stopped its frantic beating since the moment we met."

"Then maybe you should stop thinking with your head and you should start listening to your heart?"

"I want to. And I'm trying to. That's why I'm here." Emma promises her.

"And I'm happy you're here Emma." the brunette reiterates to her wife. "As I told you earlier, I want to get to know you."

"But you already know me." Emma says sadly.

"Maybe..." Regina smiles softly. "But I promise you that I could never get tired of talking or getting to know you Emma."

This makes Emma blush slightly which in turn makes Regina chuckle knowingly.

"It's getting late." the brunette decides to ease the tension between the two of them. "So how about I show you where the kitchen and everything else is." she then turns around to give Emma a knowing smile. "Are you hungry?"

"Famished." Emma admits immediately. "Am I usually like this?"

"A bottomless pit?" Regina joked warmly. "All the time." she moves towards the kitchen while being followed by the blonde.

"Well, can't deny that." she laughs loudly. "Listen, I know this may be random, but would you have by any chance..."

"Bacon?" the brunette asks knowingly.

"Yes!" Emma says excitedly. "Ever since I woke up I've been craving bacon like crazy."

"I can only imagine." Regina laughs softly. "I remember how you always used to wake me up in the middle of the night just so I could get you some bacon from the kitchen. It used to annoy me so much."

"Not anymore?" she says jokingly but immediately realizes how serious the topic has become.

"I never thought I would do it again." Regina tries to say calmly. "So you reacquiring this behavior is in fact very welcomed."

"I'm sorry Regina." Emma says dejectedly while moving closer to the brunette who is doing her best to not start crying. "I'm sorry for being like this."

"It's not your fault Emma." Regina promises her immediately. "And I am not angry nor upset at you for not remembering. I'm just very sad." she admits.

"I wish I could remember you. Remember us." Emma whispers brokenly. "Just like you remember all of these small details about me and our life together."

"Maybe in time you will." Regina tells her carefully, knowing well how the Curse would work. "But even if that did not happen, that doesn't mean that you and I can't create new memories. Because I know, I believe, that what's in here..." she points at Emma's heart. "Is what made me fall in love with you."

"I don't want to disappoint you Regina."

"You could never." the brunette promises her surely. "In fact, I don't want you Emma to be anyone but yourself. I know that staying together may not be the best for us, especially if we want to get to know each other all over again." she smiles softly. "But I'm willing to give it a try if you are."

"Just a try?" Emma asks, not sure if the word used makes her feel assured because although she didn't remember her time with Regina she knew that their relationship was not new. They seemed to know each other very well.

"Yes. No expectations or compromises." Regina assures her. "All I want is to get to know you."

"But you know me Regina. I mean you even know I crave bacon late at night for God's sake." Emma says angrily. "I'm the one fucked up that doesn't remember you."

"Well, then that means that we'll have to do what other people do when they realize they like each other."

"And what do other people do?" Emma whispers softly while watching Regina getting close to her.

"They go out on dates." she smiles charmingly at her wife. "That is, of course, if that's what you want from this. From us." she clarifies.

"You know that's what I want." Emma says surely while staring at Regina's lips. "Can I kiss you?"

Regina is almost willing to let Emma do so. In fact, they had already done so in the hospital. But, although she had known that the Curse would not break, she was still a little disappointed about it. Deep inside of her she knew that Emma liked her, desired her. But lust was not love. And, if she wanted this new relationship with Emma to work she had to treat her as a prospect and not her wife. Which meant saying no.

"I don't kiss until the third date." Regina tells her wife and notices her famous pout appear.

"But we already kissed!" Emma complains softly, enjoying the banter between the two of them immensely.

"Yes, but now that you have made your intentions official that means you will have to earn it."

"Ok." the blonde laughs loudly. "I like a challenge." she smirks at the brunette who blushes and her heart starts automatically beating faster.

 _This,_ Emma thinks while watching Regina smile and laugh at what she said, _this is how I should feel._

"Mom?" they hear a young voice ask from behind them and Emma turns around to stare at Henry, who is also looking at them knowingly.

"Henry!" she says excitedly while walking around Regina and hugging the boy tightly, surprising herself at her actions. "I'm so happy to see you."

 _And how come you just called Regina mom?_ she thinks but doesn't ask.

"Emma?" he asks surprised while smiling brightly at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I just got released from the hospital kid." she tells the young boy happily. "And Regina was nice enough to let me bunk with you guys."

"I thought you had Killian to take care of you." Henry says confused.

"Well, yeah not anymore." Emma admits softly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." the brunette boy apologizes right away, although internally he wanted to start dancing.

"Don't be kid. It wasn't meant to be."

"Then I'm happy you're staying here with us."

"So am I." Emma says while staring at Regina.

Henry catches immediately the way his mothers are looking at each other and this gives him more hope in their capacity to break the Curse. In their mothers' love towards one another and how they were capable of finding each other in any reality.

"Henry, I know you're excited about Emma being here..." Regina says apologetically because she wanted Henry to talk to her other mother just as much as he did. "But the doctors did say that she needed to rest and it's already late."

"I understand." Henry smiles knowingly. "And besides, since Emma will be staying here we'll have more opportunities to chat."

"Of course." Emma gives him a dashing smile before looking at Regina who seems like she wants to talk to the kid. "If you tell me where the bathroom is I can start preparing to go to bed."

"Of course." Regina blushes. "It's right around the corner, door to the left. You can't miss it." she smiles when Emma immediately does as said and closes the door behind her.

"She broke up with him!" Henry whispers excitedly after he makes sure that Emma can't hear them. "Do you know what this means? It means she's remembering."

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that Henry." the brunette whispers sadly. "Because Emma does not love me, not yet at least."

"But she's here..."

"Yes, and she knows that I love her."

"You told her?" Henry asks surprised.

"I couldn't lie to her." Regina explains. "Not when it comes to that."

"I understand. I mean, I was worried that would freak her out but here she is."

"She's confused. Like you said, a deep part of her recognizes us and it comforts her. But that rational side, the one that the Curse has affected, prevents her from accessing the memories she has of us."

"Then that means you just have to kiss her and the Curse will break."

"We already kissed Henry." Regina says sadly. "And it didn't work because your mom doesn't love me. Not this Emma."

"But she will love you." Henry promises her.

"With you by my side helping me I know we'll bring your mother back." the brunette smiles brightly. "I have hope, Henry."

"So do I." he tells her while giving her a hug. "And I'm really happy about having Emma stay here with us. I never thought I would get the chance to have that again."

"I know Henry." Regina whispers sadly. "And I know how much we've put you through with the Curse and sending you all alone to another realm." she tells him dejectedly. "But no matter how much it pained us, we couldn't let Snow hurt you."

"I know mom." Henry promises her. "And I told you already that I forgive both of you for what you had to do. I know that you did it in order to give me my best chance. And that you did it because you loved me."

"We love you Henry." Regina promises her warmly. "But we must tread carefully now."

"Why? Emma is here now, not influenced by you nor anyone."

"I know dear." the brunette woman says calmly. "But do you honestly think that Snow will let this pass? No, she'll try to do anything in order to force Emma to remain close to her, and the way she sees that happening is with forcing her to marry Prince Killian."

"So even if Emma said no to him you think Snow will find a way to make Emma take him back."

"Yes dear." Regina murmurs while hearing the toilet flushing. "But we can't keep talking about this right now. In fact, I'm surprised you're even up."

"I was getting ready for bed but then I noticed that Myka and Helena had yet to come back."

"You mean they're not here?!" Regina exclaims worriedly. "Henry! Why are you telling me this now?"

"Because I kinda got distracted with Emma being here..." he apologizes. "Do you think something bad happened to them?"

"I don't know Henry. As far as I knew, Snow believed their cover story and has no reason to hurt them. But there may be other people in Storybrooke that we don't know about."

"Like Mr. Gold?" Henry asks knowingly.

"The Dark One never works for anyone. He only does what is best to him. No, knowing him, he is awaiting until the Curse breaks."

"So you also think that's why we're here?"

"Of course." Regina huffs. "Why else would he bring us all the way here and then stay around for 4 years. He can't get out until Storybrooke opens to this realm, and that will only happen once the Curse breaks."

Before Henry can answer her though, they hear the door of the bathroom opening, which can only mean that Emma is done with her shower.

"Remember, not a word to Emma. She must figure her feelings out all by herself and without us influencing her. That's the only way the Curse will break."

"Got it mom." Henry promises her. "Now go help her."

"What about you?" she asks him immediately. "It's late and we don't know if Snow has others working for her."

"I won't go out." he assures her. "But I will wait right here until Myka and Helena come back."

"Henry..." Regina starts to say but stops when she hears Emma calling for her. "Don't stay for too long."

"I won't." he promises. "In fact, if they don't come back in an hour I'll go to your room so we can start searching for them."

"Ok." the brunette woman whispers and kisses him on his forehead before going away.

Henry, instead, sits in one of the chairs of the living room and prepares himself for the conversation he will surely have with the two women. Because for some reason, he felt disturbed about their absence. It wasn't as if he believed that they would betray them but they were not a part of this world. Which meant that they couldn't possibly know how people would act and behave, which was what worried him most.

He trusted Myka and Helena.

It was the rest of Storybrooke that he didn't trust.

SQSQSQSQ

"I feel like we just made a deal with the devil." Myka murmurs while walking out of Gold's office.

"Because you just did." they hear a woman say from behind them and both agents quickly draw their Teslas out. "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you." she goes towards the light.

"Don't do that!" Helena admonishes her while lowering her weapon, which makes Myka do the same. "Myka, this is Tauriel. She's one of Snow's informants and has decided to help us take her down."

"Myka Bering, Secret Service." Myka introduces herself while squeezing the woman's hand. "Were you following us?"

"Snow has told me to keep tabs on you, and although I do not give her anything important I must still pretend that I'm doing my job." Tauriel explains to them.

"So why reveal yourself to us now?" Helena asks the woman knowingly.

"He also knows that we're from another place." she doesn't ask.

Myka and Helena do not even try to refute the claim.

"How many mics are inside his shop and how were you capable of pulling that off?" Myka asks curiously.

"Four, most of them near the front and one in the study." Tauriel admits. "Although the Mayor doesn't know anything about them and it took careful planning and preparation."

"Why didn't you tell the Mayor?"

"Let's just say that you two are not the only ones that Gold makes deals with. And, I wanted to have some sort of insurance in case one day the man tried to come against me."

"Understandable." Helena says softly. "But Tauriel, no one can know what happened in there, especially Regina."

"She will get pissed, you know that right?" Tauriel tells them knowingly. "Everyone knows that when you make a deal with Mr. Gold, although you may believe that you're gaining something from it, the real winner is him."

"That may be..." Myka agrees. "But since our goals are aligned, an alliance with him was pivotal. And just like you know that people come to him, we knew that the Mayor was going to try to contact him."

"Just be careful and don't reveal your plans to him. Don't tell him that Regina is aware of what is happening because he may try to use that against you. And don't mention her son."

"Henry is not her kid." Myka tries to deny but Tauriel raises her hand to stop her from talking.

"Only a fool would not realize that Regina and that kid are family. It would also explain how all of this started happening after his arrival to the town."

"Listen Tauriel, no one can know about Henry's connection to Regina. It would put him in danger." Helena says seriously and Tauriel realizes this is a warning.

"I promised to help you Helena." Tauriel promises her. "Besides, I would never endanger the life of a child."

"Good." Myka is the one that says this while looking around them. "It's getting late and we're not exactly hidden. We should start making our way back and you Tauriel should return to your post."

"Ok." the woman murmurs while moving away. "I'll listen to the tapes I have from Gold's shop, see if I can find something that could help you."

"That would be immensely appreciated." Helena tells her. "Also, Mayor Blanchard may come tomorrow to discuss a deal with Mr. Gold. We would like to hear what they will be talking."

"I can make that happen. Since Regina is still the Mayor's secretary, get her to find out the time the appointment will take place and we can come here to listen with my equipment. It also records a live feed."

"That's awesome." Myka says surprised. "Thank you for being so open and receptive about this."

"Remember, I'm invested in this just as much as you are." the woman bids them farewell and quickly enters her car.

"We need to be more careful Helena." Myka warns her partner. "I feel like we're getting closer to the climax of the story and that if we miss something someone will get hurt."

"I understand your trepidation darling." Helena says calmly. "The only thing we can do now is hope that Snow contacts Gold tomorrow and he denies her deal. But with this current conversation we've just had with Tauriel, now we can know what she'll want from him."

"That is indeed good news. But we must return to Regina's house before someone other than Tauriel finds us lurking this late at night."

"Snow does have some allies with being the Mayor, but just like we found Tauriel, there must be other people in here that despise her." Helena starts whispering while getting inside the car.

"Yes, but it's not like they'll just tells us that they want the woman to step down. We are strangers and could very well be working for her. The people here won't trust us." Myka explains carefully.

"But we do have someone that is from here who believes us."

"Regina..." the curly brunette whispers. "You want to put a target on the woman's head by making her publicly admit her distaste towards Snow? That could endanger this whole mission."

"I'm aware of the risks." the older woman says softly.

"It doesn't seem like it." Myka berates her. "She's the only one capable of breaking Emma's curse with Truest Love's kiss. And, the moment Snow realizes that she's aware of her true self she could do anything to put her in jail, or worse, just use a pawn to kill her."

"Kill her?" Helena scoffs. "Not even Snow White could get away with murdering her secretary in our world."

"Yes and this is not our world Helena! Didn't you just see the effects of True Love's kiss? We saw magic right in front of our eyes. So why couldn't it be possible for Snow to somehow use magic to cover her tracks?"

"Then tell me what else we can do Myka?" Helena exclaims bitterly. "Because I feel like we're going in circles without real solutions. Yes, we're preparing and preventing, but we're not doing anything concrete to speed the process of breaking the Curse."

"We just made a deal with Gold that will give us more time." Myka says softly. "So basically we've done all we can when it comes to preventing outside forces from preventing Regina and Emma from getting together. Now it's up to them and their love."

"I want to believe that it can all be fixed with a kiss." the older brunette says hauntingly. "But life is not that simple."

"Maybe it could be." Myka tells her sadly. "This trip has showed me that the answers to life are simple, but because we refuse to believe this we complicate and mess everything up."

"So you're saying that we should start acting like people from fairytales?"

Myka chuckles softly.

"I'm just saying that maybe we should start believing in us and our ideals just like the heroes of these stories do."

Helena stops the car in front of Regina's place and turn around to look at deep green eyes.

"Myka..." Helena whispers brokenly. "It can't be that simple. Life just doesn't work that way."

"But it is. You just don't want it to be." Myka caresses her cheek with one hand before opening the door of the car and getting out.

"Where are you going?" the older woman asks confused.

"I'm going to sleep because no matter what I tell you, you'll continue to be stubborn and resolute about your beliefs."

"This is hard for me Myka." Helena chokes out. "Believe me."

"I can see it." Myka tells her immediately. "I just hope that I'm worthy enough for you to try harder." the brunette woman finishes and takes the keys that Regina gave them out of her pockets.

As soon as the door opens, they notice Henry sitting on the couch, anxiously moving his hands from side to side, as if he was thinking of what to say or do. Luckily, the moment the boy notices them he stops his movements.

"Where were you last night?" Henry asks them the moment the two agents made their way inside Regina's apartment.

"We were busy." Myka says carefully while moving towards the kitchen. "And how come you're still up?"

"You were not here when I wanted to go to bed and my mom and I were worried about you."

"We're sorry Henry." Helena apologizes immediately. "We just had to go out for a while."

"You two did something." he says knowingly. "And that's why you're avoiding to look at me, so you don't have to answer my questions."

"Henry..." Myka says softly. "What we did is our responsibility and what we thought was best for Operation Cobra to succeed. Trust us."

"You both know I do." Henry says quietly. "I just don't trust what you chose to do."

"We can't tell you Henry." Myka apologizes. "But trust me, it's for the best you don't know."

"But you were the one that said that we shouldn't keep secrets between us." the boy tells her immediately. "Are you going to go against your own words?"

"Henry..."

"No, I won't hear your excuses because the only thing I can think is bad enough for you to do is make a deal with the Dark One." Henry starts saying but stops talking when he notices the way Myka and Helena won't look at him. "Please tell me you didn't..."

"We had no choice..." Helena whispers to him softly. "Gold was going to make a deal with either us or Snow. We decided to approach him first before Snow got the chance tomorrow."

"So she was going to contact him." Henry murmurs. "It must be because Emma left Prince Killian."

"She did?" Myka asks happily.

"Yes she did." they hear a strong voice say from behind them and the three people awake turn around to see Regina coming. "Guess this further confirms our theory Henry." she tells to the young boy.

"Regina..." Helena starts to explain but stops when the brunette woman raises her hand.

"I understand." she tells the two agents surely. "And although I believe that it was dangerous to tell Gold that you're aware of the Curse, it does help to know that we have some liability over him."

"So you have an idea of what we had to offer him." Myka says.

"Yes, a way to find the person that traveled from our realm to this one." she simply says. "But still, don't believe that will stop him from making deals with Snow or anyone else. All he wants is to break the Curse, which means he's even capable of manipulating Snow into breaking it herself."

"How?" Helena asks curiously.

"There are three ways to break the Curse. The first one is Truest Love's kiss of course. But the second one is by the death of the caster of the curse."

"And that's Snow." Henry whispers. "But she wouldn't be capable of killing herself."

"Which is why I believe she would choose the third." Regina says softly. "Which is by killing the Savior."

"The Savior?" Myka asks.

"Yes, the predestined person responsible for breaking the Curse. Snow's unborn child." she smiles sadly.

"Emma." Helena realizes quickly. "But now it won't work because she's affected by the Curse.

"I'm aware of that." Regina whispers. "But it was Snow's child the Savior because of her condition as the child of my nemesis, of the person that destroyed my happiness. One of the Dark One's way to manipulate and further hurt me."

"He deliberately made Emma the Savior based on your connection to Snow White." Myka says angrily. "Bastard."

"So what you're saying right is that Emma is no longer is the Savior this Curse needs." Helena adds bitterly.

"But there is still a Savior." Henry adds knowingly. "And you know who it is."

Regina nods.

"It took me a while to understand, but after we defeated Snow White I realized that the Savior was an insurance the Dark One placed in the Curse so that no matter what it would break."

"And he wanted it to break so he would find the person he lost." Helena remembers. "And since you didn't cast the Curse now, and Emma is a victim of the same Curse, that means the Savior has changed."

"Yes." Regina agrees quickly. "Although since the Curse is meant to break with Truest Love's kiss, that means Emma kissing me would still work."

"But she would no longer be the Savior of this Curse." Myka starts understanding what Regina is trying to say. "Because Emma would be falling in love with you all over again, which is not the same as remembering you."

"So she would remember her true self as a result of the Curse breaking, hence not being the Savior." Helena adds. "Which means that the Savior must be someone from the Enchanted Forest. But that means you could be the Savior Regina."

"I'm not." Regina says angrily. "Because I was cursed and I didn't remember until Henry kissed me. I was polluted, in a manner of speaking. I wasn't self-aware of being cursed before your arrival. And besides, Snow already suspects of a Savior coming to town. She's been expecting the Savior since she cast the Curse and he escaped to another realm."

"So that means..." Myka starts thinking. "That the Savior must be capable of remembering their past without influence from other people." she then turns around to look at Henry.

"Henry is the Savior." Helena whispers softly and notices the way Regina gulps but nods in confirmation.

"He's the one that brought you here. He broke my curse with True Love's kiss because he believed and ever since he arrived to town, things have started to change. Although Emma and I must kiss for the Curse to fully break, Henry has already started a chain reaction that will ultimately culminate with us breaking the Curse." Regina whispers. "And Gold must suspect that."

"But why hasn't he tried to kill me then?" Henry asks. "If he knows that I'm the Savior."

"Because he's not completely sure. I remember that Snow was alone when the Curse took place, which means that Gold may not know that you escaped that day. And, since Snow doesn't know that Gold can remember his Enchanted Forest self, she must be holding that piece of information to herself." Regina theorizes.

"Well, perhaps we will have the answers to these questions tomorrow." Helena says solemnly. "Because Tauriel came through and somehow was capable of placing microphones inside Gold's shop."

"And tomorrow Gold will have a meeting with Snow." Myka adds. "We were there when he got the call from her."

"And what did you ask of him?" Henry asks them. "We know you made the deal, but what did you ask."

"That he did nothing to hurt you or your family. Also, to not help Snow into separating your mothers." the curly brunette tells them quickly.

"And he accepted it because he wants the Curse to be broken." Regina murmurs. "You didn't mention Henry."

"No we did not." Helena promises her new friend. "We were careful in the way we phrased the deal and he signed that Emma and her family would not be hurt or affected by him."

"And that includes Henry and Snow." the witch realizes. "He must be really desperate in order to agree to such a deal."

"He's not sure if he will be able to leave town once the Curse breaks. I mean, common sense would make you suspect you couldn't based on the fact that you're all from another realm and you don't actually belong to this world." Myka says proudly. "Surely Gold must have thought the same things."

"That was clever." Henry compliments the two agents. "But next time you plan something like that tells us. We're a team and we can't allow anyone to break our trust in one another."

"Henry is right." Regina smiles softly. "Besides, right now it's not only us here. We have Emma, who under no circumstance can tell Snow of Henry's existence or your presence in this house."

"And how will we manage to do that?" Myka asks confused.

"We'll tell her the truth of course. That Snow doesn't trust you and that you prioritize Henry's safety, which is why you're staying here." Regina explains to them.

"That is the truth." Helena murmurs and Myka agrees.

"Tell Emma you don't trust Snow. I saw the way my Ma was looking at her that day in the hospital, like she didn't believe the woman." Henry adds his input to the conversation.

"Besides, I already warned her about your presence here, so just explain those things to her and everything should be fine." the brunette finishes saying. "Besides, I hope to keep Emma as far away from you three as possible so she doesn't grow suspicious of you."

"You mean you won't come tomorrow to Gold's shop?" Henry asks quickly.

"I can't leave Emma alone, not when Killian is still around and Snow wants to desperately marry her off to him." Regina says determinedly. "But we'll still have meetings like this when we discuss your findings."

"Makes sense." Helena agrees immediately. "But we do need you to tell us when Snow will schedule this meeting with Gold."

"I'll do that." the witch promises them. "Now that we've got a plan, how about we get some sleep so we can start our day tomorrow early?"

"Good idea." Myka smiles softly at them before hugging Henry. "Good night kid."

"Night Myka." he smiles warmly and is quickly hugged by Helena as well. "Good night Helena."

"Good night Henry." the older woman smiles softly. "We'll fix this." she promises Regina and smiles softly when the brunette nods in confirmation.

Tomorrow their day was going to be a complicated one.


	8. Familiar, An Old Friend and Acceptance

**Author's Note:** I'm so happy to see that people are still reading and favoriting this story! I did tell you that I had the second chapter almost done! I'm not sure how many more chapters this story will have, but we're nearing the climax of the story. Kudos and thank you all for your continuous support.

* * *

"So this is Storybrooke." Emma says while walking around the street, people and stores passing by without a care or regard.

"Does it seem familiar to you?" Henry asks her.

"Not really. And, based on what Killian told me, it shouldn't because he said that I have no family in Storybrooke."

"But that doesn't mean that you're not from here." Myka tells her softly. "Maybe we could ask around, see if anyone remembers you?"

"There's no need." Emma murmurs. "If they did, then they didn't care about me much because I was at that hospital bed for a long amount of time and yet they just found me."

"Doesn't hurt to try." Henry says simply while smiling at the store in front of him. "Can I go in?"

"Yes." Myka smiles warmly. "Just don't go all crazy with the comics."

"I'll try not to." he promises. "You wanna come?" he asks Emma who shakes her head.

"I think I'll just stay outside and take a look around." she says calmly. "But if you see a comic of WonderWoman get it! That woman is such a badass."

"No one beats Batman." Henry smirks and quickly goes inside before Emma can answer him.

"Cheeky." Emma chuckles softly and notices Helena staring at her. "Do I have something on my face?" she jokes in order to dissipate the tension.

"I was just thinking about what you just said about no one recognizing you." the brunette woman says calmly. "And it surprises me that you're not interested in trying to find more information about you."

"Helena..." Myka warns her sternly.

"You're worried because I don't want to find the people that never truly wanted me around?" Emma asks loudly.

"That's what I meant." Helena says apologetically. "But as a person that has experienced, let's call it a reawakening, I was desperate to learn of what I had missed while being away. I guess what I mean is that I'm surprised you're not."

"I should be." Emma murmurs brokenly. "But why should I care about a life that apparently was unimportant? I mean, just look at my situation: I don't remember where I live, or my family or the friends that I should have had. Which leads me to believe that maybe I didn't have those things to begin with."

"And you suspect that's why no one tried to look for you." Myka says understandingly.

"That must make you feel quite upset." Helena tells her softly. "Perhaps even a little angry?"

"Angry at who?" Emma asks her, knowing already what Helena was trying to find out. "She told you. Regina told you about our past."

"She told us that you were together." Helena answer her carefully and Emma can't sense a lie in that statement. "And based on all I have heard, I can't help from wondering if you're angry or upset at her for not finding you earlier."

"I could never be angry with Regina if that's what you're trying to ask me." the blonde is direct in her answer. "Because I don't know, I still don't remember, my relationship with her. And, it was Killian the one I was engaged to. Not Regina." she chuckles bitterly. "For all I know, I could have been a..." she looks at Henry who's talking with the salesperson. "...a bitch and hurt her and yet here she is taking care of me."

"I don't think that you should believe that." Myka smiles warmly. "Because one thing I have learned about Regina while being here is that she only strives for the best and what she believes she deserves. So, if she's helping you and willing to give your relationship another try then don't question it."

"She's really wonderful, isn't she?" Emma asks happily while staring at the two women in front of her.

"She's been a great friend." Helena agrees. "Which is why I felt compelled to ask you these things. I know how Regina feels about you, anyone can see it in the way she looks at you. And perhaps it's me being overprotective of her, but the last thing I would wish for her is to get hurt."

"And I don't want to hurt her." the blonde promises them. "Believe me. In fact, I feel so many things for her, things that I cannot explain. And Regina, being her wonderful self, is not pushing me away or demanding things of me. She's just there, telling me to take my time, to get to know her and for her to get to know me."

"That sounds a lot like something she would say." Myka tells her warmly. "Maybe you should do as she told you and take this as an opportunity to reacquaint yourself with her?"

"I want to." Emma says surely. "I mean, I can't really explain it but all I want is to be near her." she whispers embarrassedly.

"Then let go." the curly brunette whispers to her. "Don't think about, don't try to find a reason in it and just let your heart decide for you. Give yourself the chance to be happy."

"It almost sounds as if you believe that Regina will make me happy." the blonde chuckles softly.

"I know you do." Myka smiles warmly at her while giving her hand a soft squeeze. "Be brave." she finishes when Henry comes out.

"I didn't find any WonderWoman comics." he says apologetically. "But I did find one of the Detective Comics and one of the characters is Batwoman."

"Oh thank you Henry!" Emma smiles at him while giving him a hug and getting the bag from him.

"How about you two walk towards the park while Myka and I have some words?" Helena says suddenly and Emma quickly notices the way the curly brunette looks worriedly towards her partner.

"Would you be ok with that Emma?" Myka asks her timidly.

"I won't let him out of my sight." she promises the two women and both nod in confirmation before moving away from them. "That was strange." she says carefully.

"Something must have happened." Henry simply says and this makes Emma stare carefully at him.

"You don't seem so worried about it."

"I trust Myka and Helena will keep me safe."

"I'm sure it's nothing." she tries to dissipate the tension created between them. "If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?"

Henry stares knowingly at her.

"You know I can't lie to you." Henry says. "I can try, but we both know you'll immediately realize that I'm doing so."

"You're very direct." Emma chuckles bitterly. "And also seem very aware of what I can and can't do."

Henry remains quiet.

"What's your relationship to Regina?" she asks straight up. "Because I have seen the way you look at each other, and that look is not one of mere friends or friendliness."

"We're close." he simply admits. "I know you're curious Emma, but please don't ask me any more questions."

"Why?" she asks bitterly.

"Because I will tell you the truth and I promised to not influence you into doing or believing anything."

"But you would be telling me the truth! I would know if you were lying."

"What I consider to be the truth doesn't necessarily have to be the truth." Henry says sadly.

"Shit kid." Emma whimpers brokenly because she can see how much it hurt the boy to say that. "I'm sorry this is happening." she says softly and honestly.

"It's not your fault Emma." he whispers brokenly. "I'm just happy you're here, with us. All the rest doesn't matter." he confesses and this makes Emma just lower herself and give him one tight hug.

The moment she hugged Henry, Emma felt her heart beating faster, as if a part of herself somehow recognized the kid in her arms. With Myka's words still on her mind, instead of shying away from the feeling she embraced it, burying her face in his shoulder while squeezing him tightly. Surprisingly, she could feel the boy returning her affection, as if he could recognize what she was feeling and was reciprocating her emotions.

Once they separated, Emma gave one look at Henry, and in his eyes she noticed the same love and longing that she could see in Regina. And it wouldn't really surprise her to realize that she was also looking at him like that. So, although nothing made sense, with the fact that Henry was not related to Regina, a deep part of her soul was telling her that there was more to their bond than deep care. Which in return meant that she had a relationship with Henry as well.

"You and I know each other, don't we?" Emma whispers to him.

"We knew each other." Henry admits shyly.

"I can feel it." she tells him honestly. "And I'm so confused. What is happening Henry? Why am I feeling like this?"

"I don't want to lie to you." the young boy confesses. "So all I can ask of you is to trust me, trust us. We don't want to hurt you, Emma. That I can promise you."

"I believe you." Emma tells him surely. "But I wish I understood. I can't stay like this for longer, not knowing what's going on but realizing that all the people that are surrounding me DO know exactly what's happening."

"Hopefully it won't be like that for longer." Henry promises her. "We're trying to fix things Emma."

"And what if I want to help?"

"You're helping. Even if you don't realize it, by choosing to stay with us, by doing your best to get to know us, you're helping us."

"So what, I just sit down and do nothing?" Emma scoffs because of course that's what the kid would say.

"Be with Regina. Be happy Emma. You deserve it." Henry smiles warmly. "You told me earlier that you wanted to know her. Am I to assume that you changed your mind?"

"No! Of course I haven't." the blonde says quickly.

"Then go meet with her at Granny's. She's already waiting for you."

"But it's not even 12." Emma starts to say but then shrieks when she looks at her watch and realizes it's 12:22. "Holy sh... molly." she corrects herself while Henry snorts in amusement. "This is the time already?!"

"Seems so." he chuckles. "So, shall we go before Regina thinks you left her standing."

"Yes please!" she pushes him forward, towards the exit of the park where Helena and Myka have been waiting for them.

"So you finally noticed the time?" Helena jokes warmly.

"You could have told me." Emma murmurs. "I don't want to be late."

"You won't be. I have learned all the shortcuts and streets Storybrooke has." Myka winks at her. "Besides, we can't let you be late to your first date."

"That just won't do." Henry adds while getting a high-five from Helena.

"You're such a little rascal!" Emma shrieks while earning the laughs of the three other people in the car.

Strangely, it seemed to fit the situation and it warmed Emma's heart.

SQSQSQSQ

"Did you bring me my coffee?" was the first thing Regina heard when she entered the Mayor's chambers.

"Yes I did." Regina tells her calmly while handing the woman her drink.

"These tastes different." Snow says the moment she tastes it.

 _Petulant child,_ Regina thinks bitterly.

"Well it shouldn't." the brunette replies tersely. "I ordered it just the same way I have ever since you hired me."

"Bring me another one then." Snow says annoyed while throwing the cup in the trash. "And this time don't make the same mistake or I'll have your job."

Not intimidated at all by the actions of the woman, Regina merely stands still, trying her best to not attack the woman in front of her. She had been excited about having lunch with Emma, of finally figuring things out and ending this curse once and for all. But of course, it only took Snow and her bitchiness to ruin it all.

Why did it even have to be today of all days that the woman was in a mood?

"Of course ma'am." Regina remains calm. "But who shall answer the phone while I'm away? Or would you like for me to directly connect them to your office?" she can't help herself from saying sassily and immediately regrets it when she notices Snow focusing on her deeply, as if analyzing her.

Refusing to back down from the challenge and continue to allow Snow to bully her, she was surprised when she noticed that the other woman was scared. Whatever she had seen in her eyes, it had been enough to intimidate her.

"Is there something you wish to tell me?" Snow asks her but there is an amount of hesitation and fear behind her concealed threat.

 _I need to back down,_ Regina thinks bitterly, _or she'll suspect that something's wrong with me._

"Of course not." she tries to stutter out and hopes Snow believes it.

"Then why are you still standing here and not on your way to get my coffee?" the other woman finally backs away from her and moves back to her chair.

"I'm sorry." Regina apologizes and almost gags at having to do so. "I'll go get it right now." she finishes saying while quickly running out of the office.

SQSQSQSQ

 _She remembers,_ is the first thing Snow thinks the moment she sees Regina leave her office. Somehow, Regina was starting to remember her true self, and while it didn't seem that she had figured out who she was, the traits of the Evil Queen's personality were starting to show, which meant that her curse was weakening.

It didn't take a fool to realize that it all correlated with the arrival of the agents and kid in town, but then again, there was no instance that the three of them knew each other or hung out. These were the times where she blamed herself for not asking more information about the Curse. And, the only man who had any knowledge about it was a victim of said Curse as well.

 _But there's another one,_ Snow thought bitterly, _another that knows about the Curse and the person that created it._

Hastily taking her things and turning her phone off, Snow gave one look at her office, and noticing that her assistant was not back, she decided to take advantage of it and quickly move out. The last thing she wanted was for Regina to realize that she suspected of her, or give her enough reasons to suspect of her behavior and bring more doubts to her identity and role in Storybrooke.

Emma, while being another point of concern, was not right now her key focus. The woman had no recollection of who she was, Killian was already ordered to approach her the moment she saw her and with the way her daughter was, it would only take a short amount of time to get her to agree to the engagement. That, along with Gold's help in getting the necessary paperwork to persuade her would be enough.

But Regina was a whole different matter. She needed to understand what was going on and now.

Walking the short distance towards the hospital, Snow tried her best to remain calm and composed, not wanting to give the people any reason to suspect of her of even mention her presence in the establishment. She had been very vocal when it came to Emma and it didn't surprise her to find out because of Anthony that the people of the town were only talking about the blonde woman and her identity being important enough for the Mayor to get involved. Snow was becoming sloppy and she couldn't allow that to continue.

Moving towards one of the doors, she quickly typed the password into the lock and subtly went inside once it opened. Unsurprisingly, there was a woman waiting for her by the door; one of the few women in her castle that had remained loyal to her cause. Snow had rewarded that loyalty with a comfortable job and life in Storybrooke.

"How has she been?" Snow asks her.

"Same as always. Not saying a word but eating all her meals." the nurse tells her immediately.

"Good. Go ahead and take a small break while I talk to her." she orders the woman who nods in agreement and leaves her.

Opening the door, it doesn't take long for Snow to see her. Although it had been years since she last visited, the woman in front of her still looked the same way. Brown eyes still cold and dark, piercing and openly gazing at her figure. The action, which years before had turned her own, now only made her become disgusted and angry. She had been very tented to kill the woman the moment she first found her. But a little, tiny voice told her not to; to keep her just in case she would need her.

It seems that day was today.

"But if it isn't the Mayor." the woman laughs deeply. "It's been quite some time since you last visited me."

"I've been quite busy." Snow tries to remain calm. "Since I'm the Mayor and all..."

"Of course dear." the woman mocks her. "Which it makes me wonder why you're here today. And I don't believe it has anything to do with mayoral or administrative duties."

"Shut up bitch." the brunette tells her angrily. "We both know why I'm here."

This makes the woman's face change to one of amusement.

"Is there something troubling her Majesty then?" she concedes.

"So you're aware of who you are." Snow says relieved. "Why? The curse was supposed to give all the victims new identities."

"Do you really think I wouldn't be prepared just in case someone managed to cast the Dark Curse successfully?"

"I suspected." she says bitterly. "Which is why I'm here." she takes a deep breath. "The Curse. It's weakening."

"I've felt it." she smiles darkly. "Time is moving forward, days are passing by. The Savior is in town."

"Stop mocking me." Snow gets closer to her.

"But this is too much fun dear. I mean, you betrayed me and aligned yourself with the Dark One in order to cast it. In fact, why are you even here talking to me about this and not him?" the woman teases her.

"Trust me, if I had a choice you would be the last person I would choose to see."

"Oh you naive child!" she cackles. "Don't tell me you casted the curse without truly knowing the mechanics of it?" she laughs yet again when Snow doesn't answer her. "And you're here because of that. Because you want me to explain it to you."

"Information would be appreciated. We can make a deal in order to make your stay be more comfortable."

"My information is far too precious for a mere change of room." the woman replies surely. "No Snow, what I want in exchange of my help is my freedom."

"Your freedom!" Snow says angrily. "You deceived me, you tricked me. You were only trying to use me so that you could cast the curse and become the Queen. Too bad I did it before you did and imprisoned you here."

"Which makes us equals then." the woman says softly. "And, if I remember correctly, you also tricked me. So, let bygones be bygones. Besides, you seem desperate enough to agree to my deal."

"If there's one thing I learned about you Cora is that you crave power. If I set you free, what would be stopping you from trying to take me down?"

"Our deal, of course." Cora smiles cheekily. "You're right, I do wish for power and comfort. But, I don't wish to be in front and in charge. During my time as Manohara I found out that my position was pretty convenient and I wish to acquire something similar to that in this realm."

"And in return you'll tell me everything you know about the Curse?" Snow asks hesitantly.

"Of course dear." the older woman extends her hand. "So, Snow White, do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal." Snow White says reluctantly but shakes Cora's hand accordingly. "Now tell me how to stop the Curse from being broken."

"Easy." Cora smirks. "You must kill the Savior."

SQSQSQSQ

 _This can't be good,_ Helena thought while staring at her phone.

"Regina?" the woman answers her phone carefully. "Did something happen?"

 _"Snow is gone."_ she hears Regina tell her frantically. _"She told me to go get her another coffee, and the moment I came back the office was empty and her phone is still here."_

"Do you think she suspects?"

 _"I'm not sure."_ the brunette responds worriedly. _"She seemed very upset when she came to work and she was staring at me, as if analyzing my every move and response."_

"That doesn't sound good." Helena says cautiously while staring at Myka, Emma and Henry who are talking with each other. "What do you suggest we do? Do you think she changed her meeting with Gold?"

 _"I don't think so. I mean, Tauriel would have told us about it since she planned on being around his shop earlier just in case that happened. No, Snow when to meet with someone else."_

"We need to find out who this person is. I don't like the way she's acting right now. Carelessly. We've seen some people looking curiously at Emma, like they've heard about her."

 _"Agreed. When I went to Granny's to get Snow's coffee people were discussing about a blonde stranger in town who had no family."_ Regina tells her nervously. _"We can't let Snow realize that she's with us. We must cancel that date at Granny's."_

"No Regina." Helena tells her surely. "We will not give into fear. You cannot stop Emma and yourself from living just because of the possibility of it being a risk. Don't give Snow the satisfaction; and show her that True Love conquers all."

 _"I'm scared Helena. What if this exposure ends up coming back to Henry and it hurts him?"_

"Myka and I won't let that happen." the agent promises her immediately. "We'll drop Emma off at Granny's and quickly meet with Tauriel so we can wait for Snow's meeting with Gold. Right now we're at the park and nothing seems odd or strange."

 _"Ok."_ Helena hears Regina whisper. _"Let's continue our plan as if nothing has changed. We can worry about Snow later. Besides, I have been imagining my lunch with Emma during most of the day."_ she admits shyly.

"She's been the same way ever since you asked her." Helena jokes warmly. "Go, stay at the office until your lunch break and then leave. We don't want to feed her suspicion."

 _"Then I'll see you soon."_ Regina promises. " _And please, do be careful. I wouldn't want either Myka or you to get hurt."_ she finishes and hangs up, making Helena chuckle.

Moving towards Myka, Emma and Henry, she can notice the way they're talking to Emma, as if giving her the necessary push to accept what's happening around her. Luckily, Emma wasn't so complicated and seemed to accept that the bond she shared with Regina went beyond explanation or logic. Maybe it had something to do with all of them being from another realm, but the point is that all of these people seemed to accept that love conquered all.

And lately, Helena had needed to believe that as well.

"How about you two walk towards the park while Myka and I have some words?" Helena says quickly and notices that Myka immediately stares worriedly at her.

"Would you be ok with that Emma?" Myka asks her timidly and that's when the brunette notices that Emma was also looking at her, probably trying to analyze if she was lying or not.

"I won't let him out of my sight." Emma promises and that's all the confirmation she needs before walking away from them with Myka following closely behind.

"What happened?" the curly brunette asks her rapidly after making sure that no one could hear them.

"Regina called, said that Snow left the office and she has no idea of where she went."

"Shit." Myka whispers bitterly. "But that's not all, is it?"

"She suspects that Snow may be on to her, about remembering her past. The woman even left her cellphone behind just in case she could be tracked."

"This is not good Helena. We were counting on having more time, on learning what Snow wanted from Gold and use that against her. Does Regina have any idea of why she left so hastily?"

"We suspect that Snow may have another ally, someone we don't know or haven't met yet."

"But why would she seek extra help if she still hasn't had the meeting with Gold? We believed that he was the only one capable of helping her."

"I don't know Myka." Helena murmurs. "But I bet it has to do with the fact that she's becoming suspicious of the curse being affected. Lately, people have been talking about Emma. That, and the fact that she left Killian must be worrying her."

"But that still doesn't explain why not ask Gold for help. I mean, based on what we have heard she's done so before."

"Maybe because the kind of help she needs is magical." Helena realizes. "Remember dear, only we're aware of the fact that Gold remembers his Enchanted Forest self. Snow must believe that he has no memory of their time there and hence no knowledge of magic and Curse related things."

"Ok, that makes sense. And, we can use that to our advantage. She'll get sloppy." Myka tries to reassure herself. "But that also means that the person Snow sought out is aware of their Enchanted Forest self."

"That is very worrisome." the older woman murmurs. "Because we were not counting on Snow learning about the Curse. And surely, just like Regina and Gold seem to know about the way to break it, this person must also have this knowledge. Snow wouldn't risk it like that if she didn't believe this source didn't have the answers."

"So what do we do then?" the curly brunette whispers.

"We have to continue with our plan. We leave Emma at Granny's and afterwards meet with Tauriel near Gold's shop. We hear what Snow discusses with him, and hopefully that can give us some answers about her other ally. By that time Regina and Emma should be done with their meal and we must tell Emma to return with us to the apartment. By no reason can we allow anyone to realize that Emma is staying with Regina."

"We can do that." Myka says calmly. "But what should we tell Emma and Henry? To explain this."

"We just tell her that we're being careful about Henry. Hopefully Henry will find a way to distract her and we'll use that to our advantage. The last thing we need is to have Emma lurking around trying to find answers."

"Ok." Myka murmurs and looks towards Emma and Henry noticing the seriousness of their conversation. "Should we intervene?"

"I think Henry has it all under control." Helena tells her softly while staring at mother and son. "As I said, it's impossible for a mother to forget her bond with her child, and Emma, unconsciously, is doing her best to comfort Henry."

"I wish I had something like that." Myka whispers. "A bond like the one they have."

"It may not mean much Myka, but I've always remember and care for you." the older woman tells her softly. "I love you Myka."

Myka stares at Helena and notices the way her eyes are focused on her, how they're craving to hear those words said back to her, but at the same time not expecting it. It was sad, to see how much Helena underestimated herself and her capacity to love.

"I love you too Helena." she tells the brunette surely. "And I know that right now may not be the best of times, but once we fix everything and we help Henry break this Curse we'll talk about this."

"Will we?" Helena asks sadly.

"I said I would wait for you no matter how long it took for you to recognize your feelings." Myka reminded her. "I won't change my mind Helena. And I hope you won't either."

"I won't." she promises Myka. "I've waited too long, suffered in silence for too long and prevented us from being happy. If Emma and Regina are capable of openly admitting their feelings, and one of them doesn't even remember her true self; then I can confess what I've felt from the moment we met."

"You say things in the best way." the curly brunette whispers happily. "Now let's go fix things so that you and I can have our happy ending."

"Try to stop me." Helena says determined and smiles when Henry and Emma make their way towards them. "So you finally noticed the time?" she jokes warmly.

"You could have told me." Emma murmurs. "I don't want to be late."

"You won't be. I have learned all the shortcuts and streets Storybrooke has." Myka winks at her, also ecstatic.

It seems that admitting their love for one another took them to cloud 9.

"Besides, we can't let you be late to your first date." her partner finishes saying.

"That just won't do." Henry adds and Helena gives him a high-five.

"You're such a little rascal!" Emma shrieks and all the people around her laugh at the remark.

Yes, being in love was definitely making things all better.


	9. Curiouser, A Diner and Spy Mics

**Author's Note:** Seems like I'm on a roll people! So happy about all the favorites and follows this story is getting. Determined to finish it!

* * *

Mr. Gold was waiting for Snow White to arrive for her appointment. Although at the moment it was more a formality than anything else, he still was curious enough to hear what the desperate woman wanted from him. He had been surprised by the two agents, and while he was still unsure of how they found their way to Storybrooke; he knew very well that the town was open to anyone outside of it who knew of magic. Now, Gold was the Dark One for a reason, and it took him centuries to learn that there were others like his son who had traveled to this realm, which further confirmed to him the existence of magic in this alternate world. That, the possibility and presence of magic was what allowed his Curse to remain (and it made him chuckle to realize that this world was described as without magic but still had people in it who were capable of using magic). At first he had been suspicious of the boy, but, just like the Mayor had done, he had checked with Boston's Police Department and had quickly confirmed that the child had been a witness of a horrible crime. The agents were a whole different matter. While Agent Bering was indeed with the Secret Service for quite some time, Agent Wells was relatively news. Her credentials checked, and her accent certainly placed her as British. But, that could also explain why there are no records of her. And, although he is the Dark One, in this world his sphere of influence doesn't reach outside the country. So, although a little unsatisfied, he had to accept that the women and child had honestly lost their way into the town.

Now if they lost their way willingly or not was a whole different matter. Because one thing the Dark One knew very well was that these women were not from their realm. They didn't recognize the customs or had the gestures and knowledge to trick him into believing they were. Which meant that someone else had tipped them off about Storybrooke and the Curse.

The only thing Gold had to do was find out who it was.

But, that wasn't his main concern. His biggest problem right now was the Mayor and her desperation to keep the Curse intact. But then again, he had tricked the woman into believing this Curse was infallible while allowing her to keep the people capable of breaking it in the town. And, based on all the gossip going around, the Queen and White Knight were very close to finding their way back to each other. Which meant that he was closer to finding his son. And that meant not helping Snow stop that from happening.

Hearing the bell of his door chime, Gold quickly stood up from the couch behind the store and made his way forwards, daunting smile in place.

He had to play his cards well and he was curious to know more about Snow's plans. That, he could trade for more information concerning his son and his whereabouts.

"Mayor Blanchard." Gold greets the woman in front of him and immediately notices that she does not look as worried as she sounded yesterday night. "What can I do for you?"

"I came to ask you for a favor." the woman says calmly.

"My dear, I'm not a man known for his generosity." he warns her quickly. "You know that the only way I would be interested in something is in the way of deal."

"Ok, then let's make a deal." Snow says bitterly. "I want you, as Regina's landlord, to threaten her with a notice of termination without cause."

"And why would I do that?" Gold chuckles amusedly. "Regina is a good tenant, never causes problem and always pays on time. It would be bad business for me to force her to move away."

"Because I'm asking you to." the woman replies angrily. "And I would compensate the loss by double."

"Are you that desperate to have that woman Emma marry your nephew?" the Dark One smiles knowingly. "He's a rather handsome fella and I'm sure he's capable of finding another woman who would be interested in him."

"That doesn't concern you." Snow huffs bitterly. "I'm doing what is right and I'm helping my nephew reunite with his fiancé."

"But we both know she's not his fiancé." Gold chuckles. "You made sure of that by asking my help to forge the paperwork."

"Again, Gold, what I do is none of your business. In fact, all you have to say is if you agree to help me or not."

"You haven't offered me anything worthwhile."

"I know you've been on the lookout for those lands near the forest and the wishing well." Snow smirks knowingly. "I know you want them, and as Mayor I can give them to you, no questions asked."

"Just like that?" Gold asks because he had been interested in the land. The wishing well would be the way to expand magic into Storybrooke once the Curse broke.

And in order for that to happen he first needed for the Curse to break.

Which meant that, based on the way Snow was now acting, it would be only possible by her death or Truest Love's kiss (and then everyone would remember everything and capture the woman).

And that meant he won in every scenario.

"No deal." he replies simply. "I can find other ways to acquire the land. Legally."

"What?" Snow asks confused, not having expected the man to reject the deal.

"I said no dear." the Dark One repeats with a smile. "Now, if that is all?" he points towards the door.

"This is not over Gold." the woman hisses bitterly.

"I believe it already is." Gold answers her knowingly. "Have a good day, Mayor."

SQSQSQSQ

"Don't be nervous Emma." Henry tells her after noticing the way his mother moves in circles.

"Telling her that won't be of much help Henry." Myka immediately admonishes him. "But he is right."

"Well I can't." Emma murmurs while looking around, realizing that they're getting closer to Granny's. "What if I mess this up? What if I say something and it makes Regina realize that she's wasting her time?"

"I am pretty sure you can say almost anything to Regina and that woman will still like you dear." Helena reassures her. "Besides, all you have to do is just be yourself and things will work out."

"Things are never that simple. Life is not that simple."

"It can be." the curly brunette smiles softly. "You just have to let it be Emma."

"And, although it hasn't been much time since I've known her, I can see in her eyes that she's crazy about you." Henry adds and for some reason that comment reassures Emma.

"That actually makes me feel better Henry." Emma thanks him warmly. "I mean, I don't even know what to say or think to her. She's just so perfect and she knows everything there is to know about me."

"Maybe she doesn't." Myka tells her calmly. "Think of it as Regina meeting a new you. She is willing and ready to get to know you all over again. That, although tricky, is such a wonderful thing."

"Why would it be a wonderful thing? I see it as a curse." the blonde murmurs and all the people in the car do their best to not react. "Forgetting Regina, our time with each other, how is that fair?"

"It isn't." Helena agrees quickly. "But, isn't it wonderful to realize that even if your mind doesn't remember her, a deep part of your soul and heart does? To me, that is a testament of a bond that goes beyond mutual lust and trust. It's a way for you to show Regina that deep inside of you she's still there. And I think that gives Regina hope."

"Hope in getting my memories back?" Emma asks softly.

"Hope in you getting to love her again." Henry whispers.

"I hope so too." the blonde whispers brokenly and that makes the people in the car continue their trip silently.

"We're here." Myka says after a couple of minutes of just driving in silence.

"Good luck." Helena smiles softly at the blonde. "But I'm sure you won't need it."

"Thank you Helena." Emma gives her an honest smile. "And thank you Myka, for the help and the friendship."

"Of course." the curly brunette smiles as well.

"And you Henry." the blonde stares at the young boy behind her. "Please keep believing in me." she begs him. "Don't give up on me."

"I won't." Henry promises her immediately and gives her a warm hug. "Now go and be happy." he whispers to her.

"I will." Emma promises him and gets out of the car, quickly making her way inside the diner because it was getting cold and she was craving a cup of cocoa.

"Hey!" a brunette woman told her enthusiastically the moment she got inside. "Have a seat and I'll be with you in a moment to take your order."

"Ok thanks." Emma murmurs while looking around her.

Of course, everyone was staring at her.

"Don't mind me." the waitress returned with a menu. "People here are curious and apparently have nothing else to do than gossip."

"Not too many strangers come around?" the blonde asks her curiously.

"Well, not many did until a couple of days ago I suppose." the woman replied honestly. "In fact, I don't even understand why people would willingly come here when all I want to do is leave."

"You don't like it here?"

"I don't hate." she murmurs softly. "But I want more. I don't want to be a waitress for the rest of my life."

"I can understand that." Emma says warmly because she does. "My name is Emma." she introduces herself.

"I'm Ruby." she smiles brightly. "So, how come you're in town?"

Emma was going to answer her but stops herself when she hears the doorbell ring. Staring quickly at the door, she pouts when she sees that it's not Regina.

"Are you waiting for someone?"

"I am." Emma replies nervously.

"I'm assuming that person is important to you." Ruby tells her warmly.

"Is it that obvious?" the blonde chuckles softly.

"A little." the waitress teases her. "So how about, instead of worrying about the door you answer my question."

"You're just taking advantage of me and my nerves." Emma jokes.

"I'm trying to make you forget about your date, so I think that counts as helping."

"Ok." Emma agrees because she had nothing to lose and she was getting nervous the longer she stayed silent. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Or more specifically, I can't remember why I'm here." she smiles sadly. "But I bet you already knew about it."

"Not from you." Ruby tells her calmly and Emma immediately likes her. "I've learned to not trust the stories people tell. Most of them tend to be wrong or they miss stuff."

"That's a good thing Ruby. Not many people do that." she compliments the waitress and then takes a look at the door when she hears the bell chime yet again.

And, to make matters worse, the person coming in was Killian.

Emma, as unlucky as she have turned out to be ever since she woke up, immediately notices that the man sees her.

"You know him?" Ruby whispers to her while staring at the man making his way towards them. "He's the nephew of Mayor Blanchard."

"The nephew?" Emma asks curiously because it's the first time she's heard that. "I didn't know that about him."

"Well, he seems to know you because he's coming this way."

"I noticed that." the blonde smiles tersely while watching Killian give her a dashing smile.

"Emma..." Killian says while lowering his face to kiss Emma on the lips, who instantly moves her face so his lips hit her cheek.

"What are you doing?!" she hisses angrily.

"I'll come back when you're ready to order." Ruby murmurs while leaving the table.

"Kissing my fiancé." Killian says calmly.

"I'm not your fiancé. Not anymore."

"So that was serious?" the man asks surprised.

"Of course it was!" Emma screams at him. "I don't know you, I don't even like you. How could I possibly want to stay with someone I dislike?"

"You're just confused Emma, when your memories come back you'll remember me and we'll be fine."

"And what if they don't? What if I stay like this? Unhappy by your side because deep inside of my heart I know that I have no feelings for you?" Emma whispers sadly. "Is that fair to you or to me?"

"I just want my Emma back." he whispers sadly.

"She's gone." the blonde says determinedly. "And please, don't try to speak or see me again. I'm moving on, and although I'm sorry about ending things like this, I know that YOU don't love me like you say you do."

"Of course I love you!" _lie._

"That's a lie." she smiles sadly at him. "But it's ok because I don't love you either. So please Killian, let me be."

"I won't give up Emma." he promises her.

"Why?"

"Why what?" the man asks confused.

"Why won't you give up?"

"Because I love you." _lie._

"A lie again." she says absently.

"Because you're my fiancé and I want to be with you." _lie._

"You don't want to be with me. So why even try to be?"

"I have to." Killian says softly. _truth._

"Why do you have to?" she asks him.

But, before Killian can answer her, Emma hears the doorbell ring again and this time it is Regina the person coming in. The brunette, though, immediately notices the two of them sitting together.

"Killian, you need to leave." Emma begs him. "I don't love you, I don't want to be with you and I know that you don't want so either. So please, just stop."

"She won't let me Emma." Killian confesses to her while standing up. "I'm sorry." he adds sadly and leaves the table.

 _That was strange,_ Emma thinks while watching the man leave the diner, _and who won't let him stop trying to marry me?_

"Are you alright dear?" Emma hears a velvety voice ask and immediately smiles brightly at the sight in front of her.

"Now that you're here I am." she replies smoothly and does an invisible pump-fist when Regina blushes.

"I meant with Killian talking to you." Regina whispers while sitting down in front of her.

"I am." Emma smiles warmly. "It made me confirm what I believed all along about him. He doesn't love me."

"Then he's a fool." the brunette says warmly. "You're a very lovable person."

Now it's Emma the one blushing.

"Thank you." the blonde whispers and notices Ruby coming towards them with a big smile on her face.

"Hey Regina." the waitress says happily while giving her a menu as well. "Didn't know you would be here."

"I'm always here at this time to have lunch dear." Regina gives her a soft smile. "But this time I decided to sit with Emma instead of alone."

"It looks good on you." Ruby compliments her. "I'll give you a couple of more minutes to decide." she says and leaves quickly.

"So you always come here?" Emma jokes.

"Well, there are not so many places to eat here in Storybrooke." Regina chuckles softly. "Besides, it's close to the Mayor's office and the food is good."

"So this is pretty common to you then?" the blonde asks and Regina notices what Emma is trying to say.

"This is a date." she says warmly. "Or at least I see it as one." she murmurs.

"Ok, good." Emma exhales completely relieved. "I just thought..."

"Ruby, while very friendly, is also very curious. And I'm a very private person."

"I've noticed that." the blonde says understandingly. "I mean it seems like I'm a spectacle with all the looks and stares people are giving me."

"You're very alluring dear: The mysterious blonde woman." Regina jokes.

"That sounds like a horrible title for B movie." Emma says and both women laugh loudly at the joke. "Ok, so help me because I've been here for a while and I don't know what to order."

"If you're a junk food kinda girl then get a burger. Can't go wrong with one of those." Regina smirks knowingly.

"Now that you mention it a burger does sound so good." the blonde closes her eyes dreamily. "With a milkshake."

"That can happen." the brunette woman gives her a bright smile before motioning for Ruby to come to the table. "We're ready to order."

"About time..." they both heard Ruby murmur.

"I'll have a cheeseburger with a chocolate milkshake." Emma orders quickly.

"And I'll have a chicken caesar salad with a diet coke." Regina returns the menus to Ruby.

"Coming right up." the waitress smiles at them and leaves them alone again.

"I was very nervous about this." Emma blurts out and closes her eyes when she hears the words coming out of her mouth.

"I was also nervous." Regina admits to her. "Not because I don't want this..."

"But because I want it too much." the blonde finishes for her.

"Exactly." Regina gives her a dashing smile. "So while walking here I decided to stop thinking and reasoning things. Instead, what I'll do is just enjoy my time with you."

"I got very similar advice." the younger woman chuckles. "Because it seemed like my nerves were very obvious to Helena, Myka and Henry."

"How was your day with them?" the brunette asks her honestly.

"It was wonderful." Emma says honestly. "I can see why you like them so much. And Henry..." she whispers softly. "There's just something about him. I don't understand what it is, but it makes me care deeply about him. Like more than I should."

"I feel the same way." Regina admits to her because she knows her wife and how her brain works. "But I stopped questioning the bond and I just decided to embrace it. God knows I needed friends and people who care about me."

"Why?" she asks curiously, not capable of imagining people not wanting to be close to the brunette.

"I am, was, quite awkward." Regina flinches while saying this because it was a part of Snow's Curse. "People didn't want to talk to me because I was strange. Apart from Ruby, no one ever tried to even start a conversation. It also didn't help that I'm the Mayor's secretary."

"That must have been tough."

"I was indifferent towards it. Or at least I used to be."

"What changed?"

"Henry." she admits. "When he arrived to town, I saw him waving at me and suddenly I no longer wanted to be afraid and alone. I can't explain how, Emma, but just looking at that boy made something inside of me react. Like I was waking up from a dream."

"I guess sometimes things like that happen." Emma whispers while staring at the brunette. "A deep part of your soul, willingly or unwillingly, recognizes someone you want to be with; and despite all logic and reason you want to stay close." she closes her eyes. "At least that is what's happening to me."

"And what did you decide to do about that?" Regina whispers softly while grabbing her hand.

"To accept it. Embrace it." the blonde says longingly. "This..." she squeezes Regina's hand tighter. "This feels right."

"It does." the brunette says warmly. "I'm just happy to know that you think so as well."

"You're very irresistible Miss Mills." Emma jokes and it makes the seriousness of the conversation dissipate.

"Probably just to you dear." Regina chuckles.

"That's good then. Because I don't like to share."

"So territorial Miss Swan." the older woman teases her again. "I like that."

Blushing, Emma looks away from Regina and notices Ruby coming with their drinks and food.

"Here you go." the waitress says while placing the plates in front of them. "Hope you enjoy."

"Thanks Ruby." Regina says and starts eating her food. "Why are you not eating?" she asks the blonde curiously.

"It makes me feel awkward to eat while everyone is staring at me." she murmurs while moving her hands frantically. "Like a zoo animal."

"I am sorry I didn't consider that when planning this date." the brunette tells her sadly.

"Don't be." Emma says immediately while grabbing her hand. "I'm enjoying my date with you."

"Then I know what to do." Regina says while standing up and going to the counter where Ruby is serving some coffee.

Emma, meanwhile, can see the way people are now looking at Regina. Their faces are of surprise and intrigue, almost as if they had never taken the time before to notice her. But now, with the way the brunette is joking and laughing at something Ruby is saying, she can see the lust in the men's eyes. She can see the longing some of them are experiencing, and while it makes her happy to know that Regina is now living the life she should, it also worries her that at one point the older woman will stop being interested in her. Not because she doesn't believe Regina when she tells her that she cares and wants her; but because she's just Emma Swan, a woman with amnesia who is incapable of remembering her life and that has no idea of where she lives.

And more importantly: What did she have to offer to Regina?

"What are you doing?" she asks Regina who is grabbing their food and placing it on containers.

"Come on." the older woman hurries her happily. "I already paid Ruby for our meal so we're fine."

"Are we going somewhere?" Emma asks curiously while doing as asked because she would follow Regina anywhere.

"We're going to my secret spot." the brunette smiles wickedly and grabs Emma's hand and pulls her along with her.

SQSQSQSQ

Myka, Helena and Henry were calmly sitting inside the car. It had only taken them a couple of minutes to arrive to the spot Tauriel had asked them to; so, to not see the woman waiting for them was getting on Myla's nerves.

"This could be a setup." she whispers to Helena. "I mean, the woman had been working this whole time for Snow. Who's to say she didn't sell us to her?"

"She didn't." Helena promises her. "I could see it in her eyes, how much she longed to be with her husband and children. And, although our story sounded too fantastical, she believed it because she felt a connection with that family deep inside her heart."

"I hope so." Myka says honestly. "Because it's going to be 2pm soon and still no sight of her."

"I believe she'll come." Henry adds. "If my mom trusted this woman to be one of her knights, then that loyalty towards her will still be there. Like Helena said, although her mind is telling her that it's not logical to feel these things, she'll still feel them. All she has to do is just act on them."

"And she did." Helena says happily while watching Tauriel come to sit in the car.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here." the woman apologizes immediately. "But I was getting things ready. Had to make sure the mics were working alright."

"Like spy mics?" Henry asks curiously and that's when Tauriel notices him.

"You brought a kid to a stakeout?"

"He needed to come." Myka says protectively.

"To the place where two of the most dangerous people of this town are meeting?" she hisses angrily. "Does Regina know about this?"

"She does." the curly brunette answers calmly. "And Henry's safe with us. Besides, we don't know who to trust in this town. Anyone could be working for Snow."

"You found something out." Tauriel can see behind Myka's words.

"We believe Snow has another informant, someone that knows about your true selves just as much as Gold does."

"Then why even come to him to ask for help?"

"We're not sure yet; but we believe it has to do with the fact that Gold owns most of the land of Storybrooke. And, recently Emma moved to stay at Regina's place."

"Emma you mean the Jane Doe of the hospital? You know her?"

"She's my mom." Henry answers proudly. "And she's on her way to remembering things."

"Then that's a good thing." Tauriel says honestly. "God knows we need this Curse to end right now."

"Why? What happened?" Myka asks.

"People are remembering things. Things about another life, being other people and having other friends." the private investigator tells them candidly. "I've heard some of them questioning themselves."

"Just how many people does Snow have you following?" Helena asks.

"Ruby, Jane Doe, Killian and Regina." Tauriel answers quickly. "But I know that Anthony is also keeping tabs on other people."

"Killian the fiancé?" Helena asks curiously. "Why would he have him followed."

"He's one of the people questioning things. And, I know for certain that he's just doing what the Mayor wants because they have a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Henry asks.

"The one that involves illegal things coming through the ports of Storybrooke straight from Jones' boats."

"Shit." Myka says shockingly. "And you're saying he's remembering things about his past."

"Yes, like he knew he wasn't engaged to Emma. He just tried to trick her because the Mayor told him to."

"And what about the people the sheriff is following?"

"Anthony the Sheriff?" Myka wants to confirm.

"I'm not very sure about who exactly he's following." Tauriel explains calmy. "The man keeps to himself most of the days, but sometimes I have seen him near the convent. And trust me, that man ain't religious."

"Then that means someone of importance to this curse is in that convent." Myka says excitedly. "Someone who could maybe help us to stop this Curse."

"Perhaps." Helena agrees. "It's something that we should consider exploring after we're done with this."

"I have everything set in place." Tauriel says excitedly. "I have the mics already connected, and the signal will come straight to this device." she takes out a small console.

"That means if somehow Gold or Snow find out about the mics that doesn't mean they'll find out who placed them." Myka says proudly.

"Yes, all the gadgets trace back to the department of the sheriff. And, Storybrooke isn't known for keeping strict tabs on their equipment."

"So that means anyone could have stolen them." Henry realizes.

"And I'm pretty sure the sheriff will say that happened." Myka adds.

"Yes he'll say so because they were stolen." Tauriel says happily. "The mics were easy to keep inside the store and for the sheriff department to not find out they were gone." she chuckles happily. "But the console I did have to steal today. Let's just hope they don't find the mics."

"I'm pretty sure Gold is more interested about what the Mayor has to say than sweeping his store for mics. And, I also think that he doesn't believe anyone would dare to try to do such a thing." Helena says calmly.

"So turn them on already so we can hear what's happening!" the young boy says excitedly.

"They're already on." the private investigator informs them. "Wherever they are, it's not at the front of the store, and last time I checked, Gold never conducts his business at the back."

"Why not?" the curly brunette asks.

"Because he lives there." Tauriel replies. "When I went to install the mics that area was under lock. Didn't even try to open it because it wasn't worth it and he would have found out about the other mics."

"Makes sense." Helena says calmly. "What about Regina?" she asks Henry.

"I just texted her with an update. She hasn't answered back."

"Well she is kinda busy." Myka says warmly. "Just as long as she's reading the messages."

 _"Mayor Blanchard."_ they hear Gold greet the mayor calmly and all the people in the car remain quiet. _"What can I do for you?"_

 _"I came to ask you for a favor."_

"She's too calm and composed." Helena expresses her concern. "Yesterday she was panicking and right now it's the complete opposite. I don't like this."

 _"My dear, I'm not a man known for his generosity."_ Gold replies evenly. _"You know that the only way I would be interested in something is in the way of deal."_

"He's good." Henry says. "Making Snow think she has nothing of value to him and diminishing her position."

"Good read boy." Tauriel compliments him because it's true.

 _"I want you, as Regina's landlord, to threaten her with a notice of termination without cause."_ Snow says bitterly.

"Can he even do that?!" Henry asks angrily.

"Technically he can." Myka says worriedly. "She must be really desperate; probably wanting to make Emma feel guilty about staying there and forcing her hand to leave."

"We can't let that happen." he says frantically.

"We must trust that our deal is more appealing to Gold than what she will offer him. Besides, he already agreed to stay out of the way and going back on his word would null the contract."

"But it's just a silly piece of paper." Henry murmurs. "What is stopping him from breaking it?"

"Magic." Myka answers calmly.

 _(Flashback)_

"Coming from a land such as the Enchanted Forest, I knew that there would be the possibility of me not possessing magic for a while." the Dark One shrugs absently. "But, that doesn't mean that I don't have magic." he gives the paper to Helena. "This paper has been imbedded with a layer of truth serum."

"I sense or see nothing on it." the Agent says skeptically.

"You must first sign dear." he admonishes her. "Once the contract is signed by both of you, every word and compromise written on it cannot be broken, hence the document has only 'truth' in it. But, if for some reason you or I break any of the clauses, the magic in the contract will take its price."

"And what is the price?" Myka whispers worriedly.

"In this case it will be favor." the Dark One smirks. "Whatever I ask you to do you must follow. No questions asked."

"And what would be your price?"

"The same dear. Seems pretty fair to me."

"With you, Dark One, I'm not sure it is." Helena murmurs but still signs her name on it.

 _(End of Flashback)_

"You owe him a favor?!" Henry shrieks angrily.

"Only if we break the contract." Myka appeases him. "Which we have no intention of doing. We can leave Storybrooke and then return with the information we need."

"But what if you can't? Did you consider that? What if breaking the Curse prevents you from leaving this place just like the rest of people here?"

"We didn't consider that." Helena says embarrassedly.

 _"Are you that desperate to have that woman Emma marry your nephew?"_ they hear the Dark One tease the mayor, which makes Henry's anger change focus. _"He's a rather handsome fella and I'm sure he's capable of finding another woman who would be interested in him."_

"We'll talk about this later." he warns them. "With my mom."

"You're in deep shit." Tauriel whispers sympathetically.

 _"I'm doing what is right and I'm helping my nephew reunite with his fiancé."_

"Such a vile woman!" Myka says completely enraged. "And how deluded can she possibly be to believe her own lies?"

"It's all she has now. Her whole life is a lie." Helena reminds them.

 _"But we both know she's not his fiancé. You made sure of that by asking my help to forge the paperwork."_

"And that was before Emma even moved out of the hospital." Myka says surprised. "She's panicking right now. To go to such extreme measures and to put herself at Gold's mercy."

"Yes, although right now she's pretty confident in having something that will interest Gold." the older agent reminds her partner. "That's why we can't hear her voice trembling or shaking."

 _"I know you've been on the lookout for those lands near the forest and the wishing well. "I know you want them, and as Mayor I can give them to you, no questions asked."_

"The wishing well?" Henry asks Tauriel.

"It's located in the forest. Not many people even know it's there, especially since it's hard to find if you don't know where it is beforehand. The land around it belongs to the city, but I don't know why Gold would be interested in it."

"When we found Emma, it was near the forest." Myka reminds them. "Maybe magic is stronger there?" she addresses this question to Henry.

"Perhaps." Henry agrees with her. "That was the first place where Emma's subconscious took her. It has to mean something."

 _"Just like that."_ they all hear Snow agree to the conditions and immediately worry about Gold breaking their contract.

 _"No deal."_ he replies simply and Helena and Myka exhale in relief. _"I can find other ways to acquire the land. Legally."_

 _"What?"_ they hear Snow scream and all the people in the car smirk.

"She's panicking right now." Helena says happily. "Which means she didn't expect this."

"Maybe that person she knows was the one that told her about the well." Myka realizes. "I mean, Regina said that Snow knew nothing of magic. I'm pretty sure she would be incapable of feeling it even if it were right in front of her."

"Makes sense with the timeline." Tauriel agrees. "She's leaving." she warns them all.

"Text Regina, and tell her Snow is leaving Gold's shop." Helena tells Henry who immediately does as said. "The last thing we want is to make Snow do something drastic."

"So what do we do now?" the private investigator asks the agents.

"Right now we will go our separate ways." Myka takes the lead. "And we'll meet again tomorrow once we have relayed all of this information to Regina. Perhaps you could take us to the convent so we can see what Snow is hiding there."

"That's a good idea." Helena agrees with her partner. "I don't want to do anything to stress Snow or make her start thinking of conspiracy theories. That's the last thing we need."

"Got it." Tauriel takes her stuff before opening the door of the car. "You just text me the time and place and we'll meet there." she promises them.

"Will do." the curly brunette promises her. "And Tauriel, thanks for today."

"Sure thing." the private agent smiles warmly. "Besides, by helping you I'm helping myself." she waves goodbye and quickly leaves the area.

"What happened with your moms?" the older woman asks Henry.

"Mom read my text already, she told me that she left Emma at the apartment and she's returning to the Mayor's office."

"Remind her to act normally and to not antagonize Snow." Myka reminds him. "She will be pissed about her failed meeting with Gold."

"Already told her so. She said that she wants to know what we found out as soon as possible."

"Tonight we'll tell her." Helena promises him.

"And tonight we'll also talk about your deal with the Dark One and that favor." he warns them. "Perhaps Mom can find a loophole or a way to protect you from him in case something happens."

"We would appreciate that Henry." Myka murmurs embarrassedly. "And we're sorry for causing you trouble."

"You did because you care about my family and me." Henry smiles softly. "And that kind of loyalty, how could I even be upset about it. I understand why you did it." he gives them both a soft squeeze on their shoulders. "I just don't like it."

"Then I'm pretty sure Regina won' like it either."

"Oh trust me, she'll be super pissed." the young boy laughs. "In fact, if I were you, I would be panicking about it."


	10. Falling For You, Dinner and a Bottle

**Author's Note:** I'm back with a new chapter and holy moly a lot is going on! Brace yourselves because things are starting to move forward! Reviews are always welcomed and I would love to hear what you have to say about this chapter. No Beta so all mistakes are mine.

* * *

"So are you ready to tell me where we're going?" Emma asks Regina while following her out of the car with the food containers on her hands. "I mean, should I be worried about you killing me in the woods?"

"Don't be silly Emma." the brunette scolds her lightly while getting a blanket from the trunk. "I know what you're trying to do and I won't tell you where we're going. I want it to be a surprise."

"I'm surprised already." the younger woman murmurs to herself.

"I heard that Emma Swan." Regina says calmly before pushing the blonde woman forward. "Now come on, we have just enough time to eat before my lunch break ends."

"Ok, ok, I'm coming." Emma promises while falling into step. "Is the place we're going far away?"

"Not at all." the older woman promises her. "In fact, we should be arriving soon."

"Well I hope so because something tells me that I'm not a person that enjoys long walks."

Regina laughs.

"Well that's not wrong." the brunette says happily. "You've always been kind of lazy now that I think about it."

"Ok, this must be some kind of unfair bullying because I don't remember things in order to defend myself." Emma pouts.

"Although you never liked long walks you loved to be outside." Regina tells her softly. "You once told me that it was because of the freedom you felt while doing so; that out here the sky was similar to us all and that comforted you."

"It comforted me to be like others?" the blonde asks confused. That didn't sound like her at all.

"It comforted you that the sky above you didn't judge you for who you were, that it had no expectations of you and that to it you could reveal your true self." the brunette woman clarifies with a warm smile. "It was what first made me realize that you were special."

"If I asked you a question." Emma says suddenly. "Would you answer it?"

Regina chuckles at the similarities of this moment.

"You already did." she jokes out.

"You know what I mean." Emma blushes lightly.

"You can ask me anything." she promises her wife in order to appease her.

"How did we meet?" the younger woman whispers and it makes Regina stop.

"Emma..." she says apologetically.

"I know you said that you didn't want to influence me..." Emma starts to explain herself. "But I want to know." she gives the brunette a soft smile. "And you did say that I could ask anything."

"I guess I did walk into that one all by myself." Regina closes her eyes. "It was a long time ago but I remember it as if it happened yesterday." the older woman chuckles. "We met after you almost killed me."

"I did what?!" Emma asks completely shocked.

"You apologized profusely." the brunette appeases her with a warm smile. "And I remember how annoying you were about it all. You see, we were going towards the same place and you offered to take me there as a way to make amends. Or that's how I saw it at first."

"And let me guess I didn't take a no until you had to accept." the blonde says embarrassed.

"Yes, and for a while that annoyed me. You challenged and questioned everything I said. And I was not used to that." Regina smiles wistfully. "But then you intrigued me, Emma. You became my friend, my ally and my confidante." she closes her eyes. "There were so many reasons for you to stay away from me, so many mistakes I had made and yet you remained by my side. You never doubted or gave up on me." the older woman then looks at Emma. "Your faith in me made me have hope Emma. You gave me hope that I could be better. And after being given such a gift, how could I have not fallen in love with you? I never stood a chance."

"I don't know what to say." Emma says softly.

"You don't have to say anything Emma. You asked me a question and I answered it." Regina looks away from Emma and continues her walk upwards.

Getting ready to say something else to the brunette woman, Emma stops herself from doing so because she quickly realizes that they have arrived to a meadow filled of flowers. It surprised Emma that this place could be here, especially since the vegetation surrounding it was not one that should belong. In fact, if she had to consider it, this place looked magical.

"This place is so beautiful." the blonde whispers while watching Regina place the blanket on the grass. "How did you know it was here?"

"I discovered this place a long time ago during one of my walks. And I wanted to share it with you." Regina says warmly while sitting down and taking out the food.

"Thank you Regina." Emma looks up at the sky and can't help herself from closing her eyes and smiling brightly.

 _(Flashback)_

"With you Regina, I feel that I can be myself. You challenge me and make me want to be more than what I was. I don't have to hide my true self from you, in fact you actually bring it out of me." Emma took the brunette's hands away from her face and set them up so the two of them could see them, still maintaining the contact. "I was not attempting to gain a future favor from you when I decided to help you. I was just looking for you to be my friend." she whispered the last part.

Regina felt the sincerity behind the blonde's words, and without a thought she hugged the young woman tightly, immediately feeling her loosen up and return the hug earnestly.

"I believe you." the older woman said and a soft white light appeared around them, none noticing it since they were deeply staring at each other. "And I also want to be your friend, Emma White."

 _(End of Flashback)_

"Emma?" she hears Regina ask worriedly. "Are you ok?"

Staring at Regina, she realizes that she's sitting on the blanket and not in some weird forest. Shaking her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, Emma still notices that while the place does not look as medieval as her weird dream, the meadow looked very similar.

In fact, it looked like it was the same one.

"I think I recognize this place." Emma whispers after a while. "I don't know what just happened, but I think I remembered a conversation we had. But we were dressed funny. Like I was with warrior clothes." she laughs nervously and fails to see the brunette's reaction.

"We have been here." Regina admits quickly. "Perhaps it's your subconscious' way of trying to make you remember?"

 _Could it be that she is starting to remember?,_ the brunette thinks happily.

"Maybe." the blonde shrugs, still a little confused. "In my memory, or dream or whatever it was, we were talking about being friends."

"I remember." the brunette smiles warmly. "That was the day I knew I could trust you."

"So it was real?" Emma asks hopefully.

"I don't know exactly what you saw..." Regina says carefully. "But what we talked about, that was real."

"I'm so confused." the younger woman whispers. "Does that mean that I'm remembering things or I'm reimagining them?"

"I think it means that a part of yourself is fighting against your amnesia." the brunette tells her wife. "And that is what is causing you to remember things in such a way."

"So what do I do? Should I ask you to take me to all the places I have been in and hope I remember something?"

"No Emma." Regina says softly. "I don't want you to feel the pressure of having to remember things. All I want is to be with you." she admits calmly. "And, it doesn't matter if you end up remembering everything or nothing at all. I would be extremely happy if you do, because I can't lie to you about that." she adds quickly. "But at the same time, getting to know you like this..." she grabs Emma's hands. "Is such a wonderful thing that even I can't be bitter about. No matter how much it may pain me sometimes."

"This is all so shitty." Emma feels tears falling from her eyes. "Because it's so unfair for you to be with a person that doesn't remember you or their time together. When you were telling me about how we meet, how you fell in love with me, I wanted to remember it all. I was trying my hardest to do so." she confesses brokenly. "And I couldn't bear the thought of you waiting for whenever long it takes for me to get my memories back. That is if I get them."

"Being with you is my choice Emma." the brunette promises her vehemently. "And I know you may not feel this way yet, but you're it for me Emma. There is, and will never be, anyone else for me."

Crying, Emma can't stop herself from hugging Regina tight. She cries for them, for the dreadful feeling that perhaps this will be it and that Regina will be in love with a woman that may never come back.

"But you don't even know me." the younger woman croaks out brokenly.

"Yes I do." Regina says with tears on her eyes as well and uses her fingers to lift the blonde's chin. "I know these eyes." she gets close to her neck. "I know this smell." she brushes her nose against Emma's lips. "And I know these lips." she whispers.

"Regina..." Emma whimpers and closes the distance between the two women, lips meeting frantically and hands moving to grab skin.

"I know this body." the brunette cries while caressing Emma's arms. "I know where you have every scar." she moves away from the younger woman's shoulders. "I know your fears." she steps far away enough to make eye contact. "I know your heart Emma." she promises her wife and hears her cry vehemently.

"I'm falling for you Regina." Emma whispers brokenly. "I'm falling for you." she repeats before she crashes their lips together again.

And to Regina, who had not expected to see her wife again, this was enough.

SQSQSQSQ

"He refused the deal." is the first thing Snow says when she enters her studio. "You said that well had magic he needed."

"And it does." Cora promises the younger woman. "Which is why it surprises me he refused your proposition." _the cheeky bastard knew something that they did not._

"Then what are we going to do?" the Mayor asks bitterly. "I can't force Emma to leave Regina's house and that means they'll keep getting closer and closer."

"Perhaps you should just fire Regina and make sure Emma knows it's her fault."

"I can't fire her. I need to keep an eye on her. And, the more time she spends out of the office the higher the probabilities she'll spend that time with my daughter."

"What about your spy, what information has she given you?"

"Nothing interesting. She's following the agents and the child around town but they are doing nothing out of the ordinary."

"And my daughter's lead guard that you're fucking?" Cora smirks.

"He's still keeping an eye on Blue." she promises the witch. "Since the curse was enacted I've kept her inside the convent as a nun."

"We can't let anyone, even Gold, find her."

"But she doesn't remember a thing. She wouldn't be of any use."

 _Stupid child,_ Cora thinks bitterly.

"Perhaps she may not remember, but that doesn't mean that others won't have a way of _making_ her remember."

"What does that even mean? No one can break the Curse."

"Every curse can be broken." Cora murmurs completely bored. _And Rumplestiltskin is another one that wants to do so._

"We cannot let that happen." Snow says angrily.

"I agree dear." the older woman says carefully. "Which is why you will find a way for me to meet the new strangers that arrived to town."

"That was not a part of the deal."

"Well, unless you want to return to a cell or to be executed this time then I suggest you do as I say." Cora says bitterly.

"These people don't know anything about the Curse." the Mayor huffs angrily.

"Trust me dear when I tell you that these people are no mere strangers that _happened_ to find Storybrooke. Only people with magic can find the city if they come from this realm."

"So what does that mean?" Snow asks.

"It means that either they possess magic that we don't know about or one of them is not from this realm but from ours. And I'll be able to find that out the moment I meet them."

SQSQSQSQ

"Are you telling me that Ma remembered?!" Henry whispers excitedly and earns the surprised looks from Helena and Myka.

 _"I'm saying that she remembered a conversation we had."_ Regina explains to him calmly. _"Like she experienced a flashback of some sorts."_

"That must mean the Curse is weakening." the boy says happily. "Our plan is working."

" _It seems like it is."_ the witch agrees with them. _"But I don't want to pressure Emma."_

"Not that I am not happy to hear about the progress of our operation." Helena interrupts them. "But how come you are calling us while being at work?"

 _"That's why I'm calling you."_ Regina says calmly. " _After I left Emma at the apartment and returned to the office Snow came and angrily told me that she was leaving for the rest of the day and to go home as well."_

"That is strange." Myka says carefully. "I bet it has a lot to do with what we heard earlier today."

"Most probably." the brunette agent agrees with her. "We must thread even more carefully than before." she warns them all. "Especially since we now know that she is desperate to reunite Emma and Killian no matter what."

 _"Killian already tried."_ Regina tells them calmly. _"And she refused him again."_

"Well let us hope that's the last we hear of him." Myka murmurs. "So shall we meet you at the apartment then?"

 _"Yes."_

"But what about Emma?" Henry asks worriedly.

 _"I returned to find a note from Emma saying that she wanted to go for a walk and that she would come back before dinner."_ the witch tells them calmly. _"That should give us enough time to discuss what you heard at Gold's and then have dinner with her."_

"And you're not worried about her being all alone with a maniac Snow on the loose?" the curly brunette agent asks surprised.

 _"I can't keep her locked-up like a prisoner."_ Regina murmurs. _"Besides, Snow won't hurt her because she needs Emma to stay alive."_

"Perhaps we shouldn't underestimate Snow and instead let Tauriel know about this so she can keep an eye on Emma?" Helena asks for permission to call the other woman.

" _That's not a bad idea."_ the witch agrees.

"Good, then I'll call her to ask for help."

 _"It pleases me to see Snow so upset."_ Regina reflects. _"But at the same time a panicked Snow is very dangerous for us and our operation."_

"I agree." the curly brunette says while grabbing Helena's hand. "While Gold may not be working for her, we believe someone else is."

"And we believe that they may remember their time in the Enchanted Forest." Henry adds. "Because Snow offered Gold the enchanted well."

 _"Snow shouldn't know that the well has magic."_ Regina says worriedly. _"In fact, only individuals with magic can sense the dormant magic that comes from it."_

"So what does that mean?" Helena asks cautiously.

"It means that Snow is somehow getting help from a magical being." Henry answers instead of her mom. "You don't think it could be her, right?" he asks her mother worriedly.

 _"I'm not sure Henry."_ the witch murmurs. _"Last I knew of, Cora was locked up by the fairies. If Snow somehow found her it could be possible that they're working together again."_

"Who is Cora?" Myka asks worriedly. "And why are we just hearing about her?"

"I have told you about her." the young boy tells them somberly. "I just called her by her other name."

"The Queen of Hearts." Helena remembers their conversation. "And she's helping Snow? Why?"

" _Because she wants to destroy us and take control of this place."_ Regina whispers.

"But why does she want to destroy you?" the curly brunette thinks about her question. "Unless it's revenge what she seeks."

"She hates my mothers because they were capable of capturing her." Henry explains to them.

"But that's not the whole story." Helena says knowingly. "There's something you're not telling us."

" _Henry..."_ the woman on the phone says softly. _"We said no more secrets and that means we must tell them all."_ she takes a deep breath. _"The reason Cora hates us so much, but me especially, is because I'm her daughter."_

SQSQSQSQ

"So..." Killian says while sitting in one of the benches. "I'm assuming this meeting is not to take back what you said to me at the diner."

"It's not." Emma tells him surely. "But it is about something you told me there."

"Emma..." he starts to say.

"I know you have been lying to me Killian." the blonde interrupts him. "What I don't know is why."

"It's complicated." the man murmurs while looking away.

"Try me."

"You must have your own suspicions." he challenges her.

"I believe it has to do with some sort of deal you have with the mayor. And really, you're her nephew?"

"Maybe..." Killian shrugs. "But you're right about us having a deal."

"Can't you tell me what it is about?" Emma questions him.

"I can't." he looks down subtly. "But what I can tell you is that your instincts have been right and that I am sorry for what I tried to do to you. No one deserves to be tricked in such a way." the man tries to stand up and go away.

"Wait..." the blonde says while grabbing his hand. "Are you telling me that we were never together? That the Mayor and you tried to take advantage of a woman with amnesia?!"

"Emma..." Killian tries to apologize.

"Don't." Emma murmurs while tears fell from her eyes. "Don't try to apologize. Do something that will actually help you try to make it up to me." she says fiercely. "And tell me what Snow has to gain from all of this."

"I don't know." he tells her vehemently. "And that is the truth."

Emma can sense that this time he's not lying to her.

"But I do know what she wanted to do." he adds softly. "She wants you to stay away from Regina."

"Stay away from Regina?" Emma asks confused. "Why would she want that?"

"I have no idea." Killian promises her. "But the Mayor has gone through a lot of trouble in order to make that happen. So be careful."

"She's the Mayor. She can't do anything to me."

"She can because she's the Mayor." the man warns her vehemently. "The sheriff does everything she says and she has spies everywhere. Don't trust anyone you don't know."

"Are you trying to tell me that she's capable of hurting me?" Emma whispers worriedly.

"I'm telling you that the Mayor is capable of anything and that you shouldn't underestimate her." Killian adds and stands up from the bench. "Now, if that is all I must leave you." he says quickly. "Most probably this conversation has been watched by one of Snow's many spies."

"Killian..." Emma stops him before leaving. "I'm not ready to forgive you for what you tried to do." she clarifies to him. "But I am thankful to you for telling me the truth and coming when I asked you to."

"I like you Emma." he smiles softly.

Emma looks pointedly at him and the man raises his hands in mock surrender.

"Not like that." he promises her. "But almost as if we were some sort of friends." he chuckles. "Or on our way to be friends."

"Perhaps." the blonde smiles sadly at him and watches him leave.

Looking at the time, Emma notices that it's almost 7pm and that dinner at Regina's will start soon. Wanting to be on time, the blonde frantically moves away from the bench and fails to see two people watching her every move from far away.

SQSQSQSQ

"There has been a new development." Anthony tells the Mayor the moment he enters her study.

Noticing the older woman sitting in one of the couches, he remains quiet until the Mayor allows him to speak.

"Keep going." the Mayor hurries him.

"Emma Swan was seen with Killian near the harbor." he says quickly. "The two talked for a while and then the man left her."

"Perhaps she's questioning herself..." Snow starts to say.

"Don't be naive." Cora interrupts her quickly. "Knowing Emma Swan, that must mean she's suspecting something else is going on. You must hurry your plan if you want to stop our daughters from breaking your Curse."

"Our plan failed the moment Gold rejected the deal!" Snow says bitterly while pouring herself a drink.

"Good thing I have another one." she smirks while standing up. "Of course, in order to pull it through I will need the help of your sheriff."

"What will you do?" the Mayor asks her carefully.

"I will arrest the two new strangers." Cora smiles and looks at the sheriff. "Now dear, how about we go make some arrests."

SQSQSQSQSQ

Nervously sitting at the table, Helena and Myka can't help themselves from chuckling a little at the scene they're currently facing. In front of them, Henry and Regina are angrily looking at them while trying to think of a way to take back what the two of them did with Gold.

"You were reckless." Regina had admonished them the moment she had heard everything that had happened while they were spying on Snow and Gold. "You can't owe the Dark One a favor. He could ask anything of you and there's no way you can refuse him."

"Yes we can." Myka tries to defend them.

"No because you sealed the contract with magic. Using that cost a price. In this situation, most probably the deal will take your life if you break it."

"Our life?" Helena murmurs. "The Imp didn't mention that."

"Of course he didn't." Henry says bitterly. "That's why he's called the Dark One."

"And we're not even sure if you'll be capable of leaving Storybrooke once the Curse breaks." the witch says absently. "But we do know that there is no magic outside Storybrooke."

"That means you can leave now and the contract will become moot." the young boy explains to them. "Of course, you can't return because the moment you do the magic will activate itself."

"But there's no magic in Storybrooke." Helena tries to reason with them.

"Once Henry woke me up with True Love's kiss a small amount of magic has entered this place." Regina tells them. "That must be the reason some people are having flashbacks about their time in the Enchanted Forest."

"We promised to help you and that's what we're going to do." Myka tells them vehemently.

"Not at the cost of your lives." Henry is the one that argues with them. "Listen, I'm so thankful to you two for bringing me back, but I don't want you to risk your lives."

"I agree with Henry." Regina adds.

"Listen, with all due respect, you can't force us to leave." the curly brunette says. "And it will make Snow suspicious to see us leaving while Henry stays behind."

"Myka is right." the witch murmurs softly. "So in that case you'll have to take Henry with you."

"I won't leave you Mom!" Henry says vehemently. "Not when I just found you."

"Myka and Helena can't stay here. We both agree about that." she tells her son softly. "And the only way it would make sense for them to leave would be if they got called back to Boston."

"Regina..." Helena says sadly. "We don't have to leave. In fact, we don't want to leave. Not when we're so close to breaking the Curse."

"And I don't want you to lose your lives. I care about you two." Regina smiles softly at the two agents. "And being away from Henry will hurt me immensely. But at least you'll be safe."

"But what if what's keep us inside Storybrooke prevents us from coming back once the Curse breaks?" Myka reasons and realizes that's not something Henry had thought about.

"No! I won't leave without knowing if I can come back." Henry continues fighting and only stops himself when he hears the doorbell.

Standing up from one of the chairs, Helena goes to check the door and sees that it's Emma.

Giving a knowing look to Regina, she watches the witch deflate herself while sitting down in one of the chairs left.

"This conversation is not over." she simply says and nods for the agent to open the door.

"Hey"! Emma says warmly while going inside the house. "Sorry I'm a little late but I didn't see the time."

"That's fine dear." Regina gives her a soft smile. "You're just in time for dinner." she gives Emma a peck on the lips and moves towards the kitchen, oblivious to the happy smirks on Helena, Myka and Henry's face.

"So can we assume your date went well?" Myka asks her happily.

"Yes." Emma blushes softly. "We talked a lot and it was nice. I told her that I was falling for her." she admits to them.

"That's good dear." Helena tells her confidently.

"It felt right to tell her." the blonde agrees.

"I'm happy for you Emma." Henry adds and it makes her mom smile brightly at him.

"I'm happy as well." Emma says to him. "But there has been something nagging me ever since I left the hospital." she admits to them knowing that she can trust them.

"And what's that dear?" Regina is the one asking her, who had returned to the table with the food. "I ordered take-out because I ran out of time to cook something."

"You won't see me complaining." the boy says and everyone at the table laughs.

"You were saying..." Helena tells Emma.

"Yes, I mean, everything with Killian being my fiancé." she starts to explain. "It never felt right. It never felt real." she then looks at Regina. "Not like what it feels to be with Regina."

Said woman blushes and gives her a soft smile.

"Which is why I wanted to know why I would be with him. It didn't make sense." Emma continues explaining. "And when he approached me at the diner, I knew he was lying when he told me loved me."

"Your superpower." Henry tells her and that makes Emma give him a warm smile.

"Yes. But then he also said that he had to keep trying. That he had no choice about it."

"He did?" Myka asks surprised while staring at Helena and Regina.

"I had to find out what he meant." the blonde whispers softly. "And I think I did."

"You went to see him?" Regina asks carefully.

"Yes, but we just talked and he was alright. He admitted to not loving me and that Snow was forcing him to pretend that we were engaged."

"Did he tell you why?"

"He just said that Snow doesn't want me to be with you. And that she's dangerous."

"Well he's right about Snow being dangerous." Myka says bitterly and this makes the blonde stare deeply at all of them.

"You four know something that I don't." Emma says surely.

"Emma..." Regina tries to say.

"What are you all not telling me?!"

Before anyone can answer her, they hear several knocks coming.

"This is the Sheriff. Open the door." the man says loudly.

"What are they doing here?" Myka whispers worriedly.

"I don't know." Regina says softly. "But it's no coincidence at all. This must be Snow's latest attempt at trying to stop us."

 _Snow, who the hell is Snow,_ Emma thinks quickly.

"I repeat, open the door or we'll enter the premises by force." the sheriff warns them.

"What do we do?" Henry asks and watches Helena take out her Tesla.

"No." it's Regina the one that stops her. "The moment they see that gun they'll have reasons to suspect the two of you."

"We don't even know who they're coming for." Myka argues quickly.

"Suspect what?!" Emma hisses at them all. "And why would they come get you?!"

"Emma, please listen to me." Regina begs her. "I know you have a lot of questions." she tells her. "But you have to trust us."

"Trust you? You have all been lying to me!"

"Have I?" the brunette asks softly. "I know your superpowers say the opposite. All I have ever told you is the truth. And I did explain to you that you had to find the truth, remember things, by yourself."

"So you were hiding behind technicalities."

"No Emma." Regina smiles sadly. "I was giving you a choice. And you've started your own path towards the truth by facing Killian. And you did it all by yourself."

"But..." Emma wants to continue fighting but the noises behind the door get louder.

"We don't have time for this!" Helena admonishes them. "The question Regina asked you was a simple one Emma. Do you trust her or not?"

Looking at the brunette woman, all Emma sees in her brown eyes is trust and love. Feelings that are directed at her. And how could she doubt Regina's love?

"I trust Regina." the blonde says surely.

"Then please leave and don't come out until you're sure no one is here." Regina smiles at her.

"Hide? Why?"

"They can't know you're here." Henry explains to her. "It will be safer for you."

"I will explain everything." the brunette promises her and kisses her on the lips. "I love you Emma."

"But... I don't understand..." Emma whispers, feeling like that kiss was one that said goodbye.

"Please trust her." Henry tells her sadly. "And don't come out."

"I can't leave you here." the blonde fights them. "That's not who I am."

"We're asking you to do this for us." the boy smiles at her. "Now go!" he says and pushes her out of the way towards the emergency exit door.

"We're coming in!" the sheriff says and before he can burst the door open Regina lets them come in.

"Anthony, what is the meaning of this?" she asks him directly.

"I have an order for the arrests of agents Wells and Bering." he gives them the papers containing the paperwork.

"Arrest them for what?" Regina threads carefully.

"Endangerment of a child." he looks at Henry. "Which means that we'll also have to take the kid."

"Don't you dare put a hand on him Anthony." the brunette threatens him. "Or you will see what I'm capable of."

"Now dear, you don't have to be so dramatic." Regina hears a familiar voice and sees Cora enter the room.

"Mother." the witch says angrily while putting her body in front of Henry's. "What are you doing here?"

"Obviously I'm doing what Snow has embarrassedly failed to do: I came for the Savior."

"Emma is not here."

"You know very well Emma is not the one I'm talking about." Cora smirks darkly. "No dear, the Savior is one of these three people standing in front of me." she looks at Helena, Myka and Henry. "And I think I now know who it is." her gaze lands on the boy behind her daughter. "And who would you be dear?"

"You will not touch him!" Regina screams.

Cora's eyes open in surprise and then she laughs loudly.

"This is too good to be true dear. That young boy must be your son."

"My name is Henry Swan-Mills." Henry says bravely. "And I am not afraid of you."

"Well you should be dear. Because I'm going to kill you."

"The Curse will break if you do that." Helena warns her.

"Of course I'm aware of that dear. I want it to break so I can have my magic back and for us to return to our land. This place is dreadful enough as it is. After that is done, I will have my revenge and I'll rule the land." Cora says happily.

"I don't think Snow would agree to this."

"Snow believes that killing the Savior will keep her Curse intact. How terrible that the woman does not know anything about magic and must believe everything I tell her."

"How terrible indeed." they hear an angry voice say from behind them and they all see Snow entering the apartment.

"Snow..." Cora says confused. "Why are you here?"

"You really don't believe I'm fool enough to make the same mistake twice?" the Mayor smiles darkly. "The people aiding you are my people." she stares at Anthony and points towards his hand which was holding a cellphone. "Which means they all work for me. Seize her."she orders the man and he quickly grabs Cora and puts the cuffs on her wrists.

Snow then then looks at Regina.

"Now, we can both agree that we don't want anything to happen to Henry." she stares at the boy. "So I'll make you a proposition."

"Killing him doesn't work for you Snow." Regina bluffs.

"No, but I have the power to make him leave Storybrooke and for some unsavory people to find him in Boston."

"You bitch!" Myka screams and tries to launch herself at Myka but the curly brunette is held back by Helena.

Resigning herself, Regina looks at Snow.

"What do you want?"

"I promise to let Henry leave Storybrooke with agents Wells and Bering if you drink this." she gives her a bottle with some white liquid in it.

"A sleeping curse." the witch says softly. "Emma will wake me up."

"Emma doesn't love you dear." Snow smiles. "Not enough to wake you up."

"Mom, don't do this!" Henry begs her. "We don't know the effects magic have on this realm. It's dangerous if you drink it."

"Henry, nothing is worth more to me than your life." she smiles sadly at him but then stares at Snow. "But you will also agree to return my mother to wherever you kept her hidden."

"Agreed." Snow promises her and they shake hands. "Now, drink."

"Regina..." Helena whispers sadly and the woman turns around to smile at her.

"Take care of Henry, protect him." she asks the brunette agent softly.

"I promise you we will." the older brunette cries softly.

"Thank you for being such good friends." the witch now stares at Myka who is crying as well.

"There must be something we can do." the curly brunette whispers dejectedly.

"You will both do what's best for Henry. He must come first. Promise me."

"We will." they both say and each one hugs Regina strongly before letting her go.

"Mom..." Henry is crying. "I can't leave you again."

"Yes you can dear. Trust in Fate and believe in the power of True Love." she hugs him tightly. "Believe in Emma." she chokes out while kissing his cheeks. "I love you Henry."

"I love you too." Henry says and steps away from his mother.

"We will meet again." Regina promises them and without hesitation drinks from the bottle.

SQSQSQSQ

Standing behind his desk, the Dark One can feel the moment the Curse powers itself. Surprised by it, he quickly grabs his cane and starts moving towards the door, desperate to learn what had happened.

Taking his phone out, he dials a saved number and is surprised by the quickness with which it was answered.

"What happened?!" Gold asks angrily.

 _"She drank a sleeping curse."_ the woman tells her from the other side of the line. _"She's now cursed. How did Snow White get a sleeping curse?!"_

Remembering about a potion he had at the back, Gold quickly returns to the room and checks his inventory.

One bottle was missing.

"She stole it from me." he whispers darkly.

 _"Why would you even have a sleeping curse?!"_

"It was meant as precaution against Snow. Somehow she managed to find it and use it."

 _"This is bad."_ the woman says worriedly. _"What will happen to Regina?"_

"She will die." the Dark One murmurs. "Because there is no magic in this realm the curse will act as a poison and kill her."

 _"We must stop this!"_

"There's nothing we can do." he says softly. "Snow somehow managed to outsmart us."

 _"She surprised us all."_ the woman says softly. _"Cora has been locked again."_

"That's good." he says bitterly. "She forced Snow's hand and the woman retaliated in the best way."

 _"So that's it then? We must accept that this is the end?"_

"No dear." Gold tells her calmly. "There is still hope. One person that can awaken the Dark Queen."

 _"Emma."_ the woman whispers. _"With Truest Love's kiss."_

"It will be complicated." he says mostly to himself. "But it is possible that the White Knight may save us all."

 _"Tell me what I need to do."_

"Stop the agents and child from leaving town."

" _Dark One..."_

"I gave my word to not hurt the child." he raises his hand. "And I will honor it."

 _"Then I will call you the moment I know more."_

"Until then dearie." he says calmly. "And Red..." he continues. "Don't trust anyone."


	11. Sacrifices, A Blanket and A Dragon

**Author's Note:** Tonight's episode was surprisingly good! I may be biased because well SwanQueen, not much of Hook and lots of Swan-Mills family moments along with the Enchanted Forest! That is until the last minute of the episode where they bring Hood back. Seriously, why can't they let characters stay dead once they decide to kill them?

Anyhow, new chapter people and this one is exciting! I hope you enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed writing it and I'm waiting to see what you think about it. Kudos and thanks for all your support.

* * *

 _Why do I always seem to end up here?_ Emma thinks brokenly while hearing the soft and monotonous beatings of the machine in front of her.

She knows that there are some people that are incapable of remembering traumatic events because their mind has protected them from doing so. Emma knew this very well because she somehow suspected that this had happened to her when she first woke up from the coma. In fact, she had been hoping something similar would happen once her brain stopped functioning on adrenaline and fear.

Yet here she was hours later and nothing had happened.

 _(Flashback)_

Emma could see from around the street the moment the Mayor and her sheriff left the apartment behind. With them, and in shackles, there was an older woman that looked very similar to Regina. Which meant that somehow Regina, Henry, Myka and Helena had somehow evaded an arrest.

Exhaling in relief, and a little annoyed at their overreaction, the blonde woman starts to return to the apartment, thinking of the best way to calm down in order to face Regina and ask her all the questions she wanted to ask. But within her something felt wrong, as if a piece of her was dormant. Similar to what one would feel when they realize that there's a part of them that's missing, a sensation that somehow makes her be incomplete.

Tugging at her chest because of the uncomfortable situation, Emma moves faster when she hears crying coming from the apartment. Leaving behind all sense of calmness and decorum, she runs forward and yanks the door open with her foot, not caring about anything other than knowing what has happened. Inside, she sees both Myka and Helena with some kind of weapons drawn, only lowering them once they realize it's her. Besides them, she can notice Henry lying on the floor, his hands holding a bulk tightly to his chest.

There was no sign of Regina...

"No..." Emma whispers brokenly and moves past the two agents who are crying as well as Henry. "No..." she repeats while lowering herself to the floor and finally laying eyes on the woman on the floor.

Regina...

"Mom..." Emma hears Henry murmuring while caressing Regina's face. "Don't leave me." he begs her again and kisses her on her front head.

It seemed similar to the ending of one of those Disney movies where the lead woke up with a True Love's kiss and everyone lived happily ever after.

But of course this time nothing happened. And, based on the way Henry was wailing in despair, a small part of Emma was suspecting that the young boy honestly hoped that his kiss would work.

 _Kid, this is real life..._

"What's wrong with her?" she asks with tears in her eyes while trying to check for some kind of pulse. "What happened?!" she screams to the numbed women in front of them.

"We..." Helena tries to explain but finds herself incapable of doing so.

"Have you called an ambulance?!"

"Emma..." Myka whispers brokenly.

"Why is nobody doing something about this?!" Emma screams and grabs the land-line before dialing 911. "This is Emma Swan, my..." she chokes out bitterly. "My friend just collapsed on the floor and she's not responding. I can feel her pulse."

 _"Tell us your address and we'll send an unit."_ the operator tells her.

"I... I don't know the address. It's the house of Regina Mills..."

 _"Regina?"_ the operator chokes out. _"An unit will be right over."_ she promises and hangs up.

 _(End of Flashback)_

Although she remembered nothing of her past self, the blonde was very aware that she must have despised hospitals. The smell that seemed wrong, the people's spirits, the aura of hopelessness and desperation that was in the air. Yes, there were some cases where hospitals offered hope, new beginnings and chances. But it also seemed like in her case this was a place of endings. When she woke up it was the end of her time in a dreamless state. One that ended the moment her eyes made contact with soulful brown ones. But now, with Regina in a weird coma and Henry, Myka and Helena probably gone from Storybrooke, it meant that this state of euphoria and hope she had been feeling was over.

 _(Flashback)_

"You can't just tell me that you don't know what she has?!" Emma screams at the doctor in front of her. "Things like this don't happen! She was alright when I last saw her 3 hours ago and now you're trying to tell me that she just put herself in a coma because she felt like it?!"

"I can't explain it Miss Swan." the doctor tells them calmly while trying to dissuade the situation. "All I know is that we have done every kind of test on Miss Mills and nothing seems out of order." he looks down for a moment. "But she is dying."

"She will die?" Henry speaks for the first time since she went back to the apartment and tears fall from his eyes.

"I will try my best to figure out what's wrong with her." he promises him and gives a knowing look to the three women.

"Come Henry, let's get some coffee for all of us." Myka tells him softly and the kid must be so desperate and lost that he does as said without any kind of fight.

"Ok, what weren't you telling us?" Emma asks him bluntly.

"She doesn't have much time." he explains sadly. "Whatever is hurting her is doing it fast, and I'm not sure she'll make it by the end of the night."

"But it's just 10pm!" Helena cries bitterly. "Are you telling me that my friend is meant to die in two hours?!"

"I'm sorry." he apologizes immediately. "But I don't know what to do. I will continue to do some tests to see if we can find what she has. It's all we can do." he looks at them sadly one more time before leaving them.

"Shit!" Emma screams and hits the wall with her fist, the pain on her hand somehow calming her anger.

"Emma!" Helena scolds her while preventing her from doing the same with her other hand. "Don't! Regina wouldn't want you to do this."

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore what Regina wants because she will die." the blonde says angrily. "Because of me."

"Why would you even say that?" the brunette agent asks her.

"Because I'm not stupid. Those people that went to her apartment came for me. And I don't know what they did, or how they were able to pull it off, but they just poisoned the woman I..." she chokes on her words. "I care about and I don't see either Myka or you trying to arrest them."

"Believe me Emma, I want to kill them for what they did." Helena promises her. "But I gave her my word that I would protect Henry. That I would put him first."

"Who then will put Regina first?!" Emma screams brokenly at her. "She deserves, deserved everything..." the blonde cries bitterly. "And I ran... I could have stayed and be with her but I ran because I'm a coward."

"You ran because she asked you to trust her. You ran because you did what she asked you to do. She wanted to put you first and you honored that by doing what she asked."

"Well I shouldn't have..." she whispers darkly. "Because Myka and you were incapable of protecting her."

"What are you even saying?" Helena asks her angrily. "Are you somehow trying to say that we just let this happen because we wanted to?"

"I'm just saying that the only person hurt was Regina and that for some reason you're not doing anything to bring the people that did this to her to justice."

"It's not that simple Emma."

"Sure it is." she says bitterly at the older woman. "You two just don't want to." getting closer to the agent, Emma doesn't move her eyes away. "I want you to leave." she tells her. "Take Myka and Henry with you."

"You can't make Henry leave!" Helena begs her. "He loves Regina!"

"I KNOW!" Emma screams back at her. "But you chose Henry, and I believe you when you say that Regina asked you to. But just like you asked me to honor Regina's word, now you have to do the same and leave Storybrooke." she knows she's crying but she doesn't care anymore. "I don't know what's going on with the three of you, but if there's one thing I do know is that whatever the Mayor wants with the three of you it's not over. So go ahead and leave before you make Regina's sacrifice be for nothing." she whispers the last part before walking away from Helena and back to the brunette's room.

 _(End of Flashback)_

"Regina..." Emma whispers brokenly at the woman in front of her. "You can't leave me, not yet..." she begs her while tears fall from her eyes. "There was so much we had left to do. You promised to be by my side. And not even a day went by and you already broke that promise." she laughs bitterly. "But how can I be angry or blame you about it when I can sense in my heart that you did it because of Henry, Myka and Helena? How can I hate you for placing the people you care about first before yourself?"

No. She can't undo what Regina chose to do.

But she can avenge her.

SQSQSQSQ

"Helena?" Myka asks the moment she sees her lover angrily moving towards them. "What happened?"

"What happened is that we failed!" she says bitterly while doing her best to keep her voice low. "Regina is dying Myka. The doctor is not sure if she'll make it to the end of the night."

"What?" the curly brunette whispers brokenly and tears fall from her eyes.  
"That doesn't give us any time to do anything!"

"It gives us enough time to leave Storybrooke."

"We can't leave!" she tells the brunette vehemently. "Not when Regina needs us."

"Henry needs us more!" Helena begs her to understand, to not fight her about this. "We promised Regina to put him first. And I hate myself for doing so, but we must honor that promise and take him out of here."

"But..." Myka begs her smart lover to find another way. "What about Emma?"

"She hates us." she chuckles bitterly. "And herself for what happened. She reminded me of our choice and to honor it."

"So we'll just leave them alone?" the curly brunette says dejectedly. "We'll let Snow win?"

"We'll give Henry his best chance." Helena smiles sadly. "And it may not be what he wants, but it was what his mother wanted for him."

"I hate this." Myka cries and feels herself being hugged.

"Me too." the brunette knows tears are falling from her eyes. "Regina was my friend. I cared about her so much."

"Care..." the younger woman reminds her. "She's still here with us."

"Is she?" Helena asks brokenly. "We failed her Myka. We failed them all and now we must face the consequences of our actions and leave this cursed place."

"What will we tell Henry?"

"The truth." they both hear Henry say from behind them. "No more lies. We promised." he reminds them.

"Henry..." Myka says softly. "Regina doesn't have much time."

"How long?" he whispers to them while looking at the ceiling.

"Two hours." Helena tells him sadly.

"Then I won't leave her until then." the young boy says determinedly.

"But..." the brunette tries to explain.

"I know what you promised her to do. And I won't make you break your word." he explains to them somberly. "But I won't leave her alone. Not again."

"Snow may do something..." Myka tries to reason with him.

"She gave her word that she wouldn't. Besides, she can't kill me and if she calls the Mafia it will take them a while to get here. I'm sure you're capable enough of protecting me if something like that happened." he speaks bitterly.

"Henry..."

"I am angry." he tells them honestly. "At you because you forced my mother to choose us before herself. But then I can't blame you for that because you were willing to do the same thing for us. In fact, that's why feeling like this is so hard. I want to hate you two because you forced my mother to pick me again."

"Your mother would always choose you Henry." Myka smiles sadly at him. "Even if we were not a part of the equation."

"I hate her for it." Henry cries and runs forward towards Helena's arms and the older woman hugs her tightly.

"We're sorry Henry." Helena tells him brokenly. "We're sorry we failed you."

"You didn't fail me." he whispers to them. "We were outsmarted by Snow." his voice becomes somber. "And although we promised my mom to leave, we can't let that go."

"What are you trying to say Henry? Who knows what Snow could do to you? She just promised not to kill you. So who's to say she doesn't kidnap you?"

"Which is why I will stay here with my mom." Henry smiles darkly at them. "While you two go to the convent to find out what Snow is hiding."

SQSQSQSQ

All Emma can see is Regina's cold body on the ground. She can't think about anything else, can't focus on another thing than bringing revenge to the woman she was starting to love. Because life was unfair and Emma was tired of allowing it to mess with her. Of allowing it to mess with her happy ending. Of being dormant and compliant with destiny.

But not today.

Today the Mayor was going to pay for what she did to Regina.

For going after Henry and their friends.

For what she tried to do to her.

Continuing her path towards Mifflin Street, Emma is not quite sure of how she knows where the Mayor lives. Perhaps Killian mentioned it once to her, or she may have heard another person say it, it didn't matter. She was determined to find out the truth no matter what and then kill the Mayor.

For Regina...

"Emma wait!" she hears a familiar voice tell her and she turns around to see Ruby running towards her.

"I'm busy Ruby." she tries to dismiss the waitress quickly but the woman won't let her leave.

"I heard about Regina." the brunette tells her softly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." she responds bitterly. "Now, please go."

"You will do something stupid Emma if you continue down this path." she tells her somberly.

This makes Emma stop moving and face the taller woman.

"You know something." she tells the waitress knowingly.

"I know you want to hurt the Mayor for what she did to Regina."

"I want to kill the Mayor." she tells her angrily.

"If you kill her then you won't be any better than her." Ruby reminds her. "And it was Regina's choice to sacrifice herself."

"She shouldn't have made that choice!" Emma screams at her. "I should have protected her."

"You're right." the brunette tells her simply and Emma's shoulders sag. "Which is why I'm here. There's way we can save Regina and fix all of this."

"Is there?" the blonde chuckles bitterly. "Regina will die in two hours. Henry is on his way out of Storybrooke and I'm heading towards Mifflin Street to kill the Mayor."

"Truest Love's kiss!" Ruby tells her hopefully. "That will end the sleeping curse."

"Sleeping curse?" Emma laughs bitterly. "Ruby, I like you, but if you don't stop talking and get the hell out of here I will hurt you."

"No Emma, you must listen to me. You know deep inside of you that I'm right because it explains so much about your time in Storybrooke since you first woke up: Your instant connection to Regina and Henry. How you feel somehow incomplete ever since Regina entered that coma." she notices the way Emma hesitates. "All of that is because Regina is your Truest Love and Henry is your son. The deepest part of your soul feels these connections."

"I would remember being married to Regina and having a child with her."

"It's the Curse that's preventing you from doing so. It's why Snow is so adamant about hurting Regina and keeping Henry away from here. Why she wanted you to marry Killian. You three are the only ones capable of breaking the curse."

"Like a fairytale?" Emma chuckles bitterly.

"No Emma, because unless you start believing your Truest Love will die and you will lose your child."

"I can't lose something I've never had." the blonde cries. "I care about Henry, in fact I think that with time I may even love him." she chuckles sadly. "And Regina, I was falling for her." she looks at Ruby. "But that doesn't mean I love them."

"Yes you do." the waitress tells her surely. "You just must believe in the possibility of a happy ending. In that you already got your happy ending."

"What I'm feeling right now is nothing close to happiness."

"Then think of your time with Regina and Henry, try to remember their faces and what they evoked in you. It's inside of you Emma and it's the only way you'll be capable of facing Snow and beating her."

"I want to believe." Emma whispers brokenly. "I wish I could believe what you're telling me but it just seems so impossible." she laughs bitterly. "True Love, kissing Regina awake? Having a son together and riding up towards the sun... Life is not like that."

"This life maybe not. But our life was like that." Ruby gives her a sad smile. "You just have to remember it." Ruby takes out a soft blanket from her bag. "Maybe this will help you." she smiles sadly while giving it to her and the moment Emma grabs it she feels her world go black.

 _(Flashback)_

"You are pregnant your Majesty." Blue simply said and the two women froze in shock.

"How dare you?!" Regina screamed in anger. "You know what happened to me, what I had to do in order to prevent the king from giving me children and here you are telling me that I can have another chance at having a child?!"

"Blue..." Emma whispered. "What you're saying hurts both of us, for not only can't Regina have children, but I cannot give her one. For her to have one you are saying that she has betrayed me."

"You are two powerful magical beings that share Truest Love, which is the most powerful magic of all. When that occurs, there are no limitations to the gifts of said magic. I know you must have felt your magic combining and entering each other." she continued saying and saw a flicker of recognition and understanding from the two women. "The spell the Queen used to barren herself was a curse, and as you are both aware..."

"True Love can break any curse." Emma whispered while turning around to look at Regina who had become speechless. "Regina, could it be?" she asked while approaching the brunette and kneeling in front of her. "Could it be possible?"

"I do not know Emma." the brunette whispered while tears were falling from her eyes. "But you do not have to do this if you do not want to."

"If I don't want to?" Emma asked in shock.

"I do not want to tie you to something you did not ask. But I cannot, I will not destroy this life that may be growing inside of me. I cannot."

"And I would never ask you to." Emma promised her. "Perhaps I didn't think of children, but Regina, this right here is a result of our happiness, of our love and I want to be a part of it because I love you with my whole heart. I am so happy to give you what you have always dreamed of."

"You have given me a new life Emma." Regina cried. "I do not know how I will ever be able to thank you."

"Just love me." Emma stood up and kissed the brunette softly.

"Always and forever." Regina vowed and kissed her back. "We will have a child." she smiled.

 _(End of Flashback)_

Opening her eyes, it only takes Emma a couple of seconds to realize where she is...

"Red!" she weeps out before hugging her mother tightly. "I can't believe it."

"You remembered." her godmother says happily. "I wanted to believe it would work but I wasn't sure."

"Regina..." Emma whispers brokenly. "Henry..." she chokes out and starts to run towards the hospital.

"Wait Emma! Where are you going?"

"To kiss Regina awake and find Henry before he leaves town."

"Kissing Regina won't work, not even with your memories back." Red tells her bitterly. "There's no magic and hence the sleeping curse can't be broken."

No, she was not going to remember her wife to then lose her.

"But Henry, he made Regina remember her." she then looked at the brunette. "You remember."

"Yes, but it's not enough to break the Curse or a sleeping curse." she reminds her stepdaughter.

"So you just made me remember so I would be aware of what I would be losing?" Emma asks bitterly.

"No Emma, I made you remember so that you would start acting like the Queen you are and fight for your family and kingdom. There's a way to bring magic back."

"How?" the blonde asks her quickly.

"Rumplestiltskin."

SQSQSQSQ

"Are you sure we made the right decision concerning Henry?" Myka asks her the moment they enter the empty convent.

"We had no other choice." Helena explains to her partner bitterly. "We fucked up and now we have to make it up to him by figuring out what Snow is hiding here."

"I hate that woman so much." the curly brunette says angrily. "I mean, how fucked up are our fairytales that they say she's the good one and Regina's the evil one."

"Stories are mostly told by the victors dear." the older woman explains absently. "Probably Snow did it unconsciously in order to make her actions become justifiable."

"That doesn't make me feel better." Myka murmurs while taking her Tesla out. "And why is this building empty?! Shouldn't there be nuns here?"

"This doesn't feel right." Helena whispers to her and also takes her weapon out. "Keep your eyes open." they continue walking towards the end of the building.

"Do you see that?" the curly brunette asks Helena while raising her gun and pointing it forward.

"Yes I do." the older woman covers her quickly and both move forward until they're pointing their weapons at a familiar woman.

"Tauriel!" Myka scolds her. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Same as you." Tauriel tells them somberly. "I heard about Regina and I had to do something. Had to try to find a way to save her."

"The more the merrier." Helena replies bitterly and continues walking forward.

"Won't you tell me what happened?" the private investigator asks them.

"The Mayor made her drink a poison and if we can't find something to stop it then she'll die by midnight."

"It's almost 11!" Tauriel shrieks desperately.

"We know!" the curly brunette reminds her tersely. "Which is why we're here instead of being with Henry."

"Where is he?"

"Protecting his mom." Helena gives them a sad smile. "With one of our extra weapons just in case."

"Good, we can't trust the Mayor to not try to attack him." she reminds the duo. "And Emma?"

"Devastated." Myka whispers softly. "We believe at the hospital with Regina as well. She knows we plan to leave if we can't find a way to save her."

"You'll leave? What about breaking the Curse?"

"We gave Regina our word to protect Henry." Helena tells her. "That he will come first."

"So you'll just abandon us all while you two run away from here."

"We don't want to." Myka explains to her.

"But you have to in order to protect Henry." Tauriel exhales in an attempt to calm down. "I understand. Doesn't mean I like it, but I understand." she then proceeds to move forward. "More reason to hurry along then."

"Shouldn't this place be filled with nuns?" Myka asks Snow's former agent.

"The Mayor placed them in a temporary house because reparations to the foundation of the building were started."

"When did they move?" Helena asks carefully.

"Just this morning." Tauriel says softly.

"Then maybe this is a trap." the younger woman starts questioning herself but quickly stops herself from speaking when they hear voices and then a roar come from behind them.

"We should turn around." the older woman recommends them.

"Not so fast dears." the three of them turn around to see Snow coming towards them with a nun following her closely. "I thought I gave you an opportunity to leave Storybrooke."

"We won't abandon Regina bitch." Myka tells the woman angrily. "And you made a deal with her, one that you can't break."

"I'm aware of that dear." Snow smirks darkly at them. "I promised Regina to let you leave Storybrooke, which I'm ready to you if you manage to abandon this convent."

"You bitch!" Myka screams and Helena notices her attempt to hit her.

"Stop! the Mayor raises her hand and a knife is on the nun's neck. "Or I will kill her."

"You're despicable." Tauriel speaks for the first time and this makes the pixie haired woman focus on her.

"You betrayed me." Snow smiles somberly at her. "A choice that your family will suffer, I promise you."

"We will stop you Snow." Helena promises them.

"Not unless you stop my beast first." the Mayor winks at them while murmuring some words to the fairy who starts to twitch and convulse in front of them. "Good luck." she wishes them sarcastically before leaving the room and closing the doors.

"Shit!" Myka screams and runs towards the door and tries to kick it. "It won't budge."

"Let me help." Helena runs close to her. "Tauriel, check on the nun."

"Guys..." Tauriel whispers to the two agents while keeping an eye on the nun.

"She probably placed something to prevent us from opening it."

"GUYS!" the private investigator screams at them and both women turn around to look at her and finally notice what Tauriel has been seeing.

"Shit..." Helena screams and grabs Myka's hand before moving her out of the way. "RUN!"

SQSQSQSQ

"You are working with the Dark One?" Emma asks her confused. "The man who gave the curse to my mother and allowed her to kill the man you loved?"

"He's just as invested as we are in breaking this curse." Red tells her somberly. "And as you said, it was Snow the one that chose to kill David. Not him."

"I'm sorry Red." the blonde apologizes.

"I understand your anger. I felt it too when I lost David." she gives her a sad smile. "But we can still save Regina and I will help you do so in any way I can."

"Thank you mother." Emma whispers and feels the older woman give her a tight hug.

"I love you Emma, and the last thing I want you to feel is the sadness of losing the person you love." Red promises her.

"Then help me stop Snow. Help me wake my wife."

"I will do so Emma. That's why we're here." she points towards the convent in front of them.

"I'm assuming that inside this building there's something we can use to bring magic here? Although I'm not sure how that can be even done since there's a reason they call this realm magicless."

"The Dark one told me that he placed some safeties on the Curse, ones that would help him break it and allow him to leave Storybrooke. One of these safeties is pure True Love magic. He says that by combining that vial with the well magic will return."

"And if magic returns I can break the Curse." Emma says hopefully. "So where's the vial?"

"There's the catch." Red murmurs.

"With the Dark One there always is." the White Knight whispers. "Do you know at least where it is?"

"It's inside a dragon that is hidden at the convent."

"Of course it's inside a dragon." Emma says bored and takes a look around them. "I don't suppose you happen to have a sword with you?"

SQSQSQSQ

"That's a dragon." Myka whispers while hiding behind a wall. "Helena, Tauriel are you alright?!" she asks and hears both women confirm.

"How do we even kill a thing like this?" Helena shoots her Tesla again and nothing happens to him.

"Do you think I know?!" Tauriel shrieks at them. "I didn't even fully believe you until now." she complains and has to move places because the dragon is circling them.

"If we don't do anything that thing will kill us!" the older brunette says loudly.

"We can't fight it!"

"But we can distract it so the others escape."

"And sacrifice one of us?" Myka tells her annoyed. "No way."

"It is the only way!" Helena starts to move out of her spot.

"You promised Regina!"

"I promised to put Henry first. This is me honoring that promise."

"But... you can't!" the curly brunette cries desperately.

"I love you, Myka." Helena tells her surely and kisses her softly on the lips.

"And I love you." the younger woman cries, but before either women can move they see a ray of light coming from in front of them and soon in it they see Emma and Ruby.

"Emma?!" Helena asks and notices the way the blonde woman is holding a giant sword.

"That's not the Emma we know." Myka whispers to her.

"That is Queen Emma." Tauriel whispers in complete awe and she is also suddenly enveloped in white smoke.

"Tauriel!" Myka is the one screaming now and both women see her dressed as a knight with a sword and shield.

"My Queen." Tauriel gets close to Emma and the blonde smiles at her.

"Good to have you back." she smiles wickedly at her. "Want to have some fun?"

"We can't kill it. Snow enchanted the Blue Fairy with a potion."

"So this is blue?" Emma asks softly. "I will kill Snow."

"First let's save Regina." Red reminds them. "Which means you have to get that egg from inside the dragon."

"So how do we do it? I just cut Blue in half and then hope she returns?" the blonde asks bitterly.

"How about we force it out of her?" Tauriel suggests to her.

"And how will we do that?"

"By making her puke of course."

"Puke?" Myka whispers and notices Ruby coming to stay close to them.

"They will try to tire her out so that she most force all her fire out. Once that's done and she tries to attack them again the egg should come out."

"Sounds easy enough." Helena says from behind them while watching the two warriors do as told. "How did you make Emma remember? How did you remember?"

"I'm not sure." Ruby tells them calmly. "All I know is that one moment I was cleaning a table and the next one I was aware I am Red."

"It must be connected to Regina. Henry told us you two were close."

"I suspected that as well." the waitress agrees with them. "But I think the Dark One sensed I was awake because he contacted me and told me everything. What Snow was up to and how we could stop it from happening."

"And that's how you knew about the dragon and the egg." Myka realizes.

"Yes." Red confirms to them. "But we can't trust him. He's only interested in his own needs and we're lucky those are aligned with ours."

Hearing a roar and some screams coming from behind them, the three women stop talking so they can see the two warriors dodge blows of fire and somehow deliver synchronized and lethal hits. They were truly slowing the dragon down!

"I never imagined I would see warriors fight a dragon." Myka chuckles.

"I never imagined to be in another world." Red smiles at them.

"Hopefully that will end soon." she points at Emma who is giving the fatal blow. "This gives me hope."

"Hope is very powerful, especially for people like us." the waitress tells them knowingly. "Hope is what allowed Emma to remember her family and what is making her fight a dragon head on. It's what gives us bravery to do stupid things."

"And somehow not get killed while doing them." Emma chuckles at them and they all watch the dragon revert back to the Blue Fairy.

"Is she alright?" the blonde asks her knight who lowered herself to take her pulse.

"She's just knocked out." Tauriel promises her. "I missed you my Queen."

"Emma." the White Knight says softly. "We are not in our land and in here I'm no queen."

"You'll always be my Queen, just like Queen Regina."

"So what do we do?" Helena asks her and watches Emma grab a golden egg from the ground.

"We bring magic to this place." Emma tells them while getting close. "We wake my wife, keep my son safe and then we destroy my mother." she promises while showing them the egg with the vial inside of it. "Now let's go get that Imp."


	12. Magic, Regret and A Kiss

**Author's Note:** New chapter people and again I hope you like this one as well! I think that by the pace this story is taking I should finish it by the end of the year! Thank you all for your love and support! Also, at one point I will mention a song that I want you to listen for a very special moment and that I think will add to the scene!

* * *

"You're making a mistake Snow." Cora tells her the moment they enter the hospital.

"All my mistakes have come from trusting you, Cora." the pixie haired woman sneers while giving Anthony space to push the older woman inside.

"You have not won yet."

"Yes I have." she smiles wickedly. "Regina will die soon enough and the two agents and that child are on their way out of Storybrooke." she sneers. "Or at least they may be if they somehow manage to survive a small present I gave them a few hours ago."

"Then you're naive enough to believe that my daughter and those two agents are your only threats." Cora smirks knowingly.

"What are you holding back?" Snow asks her bitterly, realizing that the woman had an ace under her sleeve.

"Why tell you dear? I mean, you will place me in this dreadful room again anyway." the older woman smiles. "And as I told you Regina, I want this Curse to be broken."

"That will never happen." the Mayor promises her. "And if I must carry that dreadful child to the border myself then I will do so."

Smiling, Cora merely sits in the horrible bed and winks at the sheriff who has stayed completely silent at the exchange in front of them.

"So you won't tell me?" Snow asks surprised.

"I don't think so dear. I want to see you lose and die." she cackles darkly and turns away from the other woman.

"So be it. No one will come look for you because no one will know you're here. That I can promise you."

Before Cora can answer her, they all feel a current of magic flowing through them, and, although the older witch knew that she wouldn't have access to her magic until the Curse broke completely, she was still delighted at the turn of events. The Dark One had somehow found a way to bring magic to this realm. Now they only needed the Curse to break in order to activate said magic.

A feat that could be easily done with Truest Love's kiss.

It was certainly ironic.

"What was that?" Anthony asks confused to Snow who simply stares at the wall confused.

"That, my dear sheriff, was magic." Cora says while smiling happily. "There's magic now in this horrible town."

"It can't be." Snow whispers softly.

SQSQSQSQ

"The White Queen." the Dark One smirks when he watches the blonde monarch enter his shop determinedly. "I knew you would not fail me."

"I'm not doing this for you Imp." Emma says firmly at the snake in front of her. "Don't forget that I remember what you did to my father and mother." she looks at Red specifically.

"Antagonizing me won't help you bring magic back so you can go kiss your dear wife awake."

"And me not breaking the curse won't allow you to leave town." Helena interrupts them. "So cut the bullshit and do whatever voodoo thing you plan to do so we can save Regina."

"So spicy." the man smirks at them. "But I agree with Agent Wells, the longer we wait, the less time Regina will have to be awoken."

"Then tell us how you plan to use whatever is in that egg to bring magic back." Myka steps closer to him menacingly.

"Simple dearie, all we have to do is go to the magic well and pour the contents of this vial in it. Once that's done magic will automatically arrive."

"That's it? A magic well and whatever is in this vial?" Emma exclaims angrily. "I will kill you Gold!"

"This vial has True Love's essence. One that I procured from your parents way before your mother-in-law happened..." he smirks at the blonde in front of him. "So be assured that this is powerful enough to kick-start magic."

"And then what?" the curly brunette agent asks him.

"Then you must hurry back to Regina and the White Queen must kiss her awake." the Dark One says mockingly. "But, the moment magic returns to this realm Snow will realize it and probably send someone to get rid of Regina and the young prince."

"Henry." Emma whispers worriedly. "Myka, Helena, you must go back to the hospital and protect him."

"I agree with Emma." Tauriel immediately backs her Queen up. "You two have those stun guns that can help incapacitate Snow's men without injuring them."

"Perhaps I should go with them." Red adds. "They may know about magic, but they haven't seen anything truly magical apart from that dragon."

"Also dearie, a wolf is useful." Gold adds from behind them and the two agents stare surprised at the tall brunette.

"Do whatever you must in order to protect Henry." Emma immediately reassures her stepmother. "And if you have to, you can kill Snow."

"I will try not to because I know how much that would pain you."

"Right now I'm no longer sure I truly care." the blonde whispers brokenly. "Perhaps this time Regina and I will learn our lesson and stop forgiving our mothers." she hugs her tightly before giving Helena and Myka hugs as well. "Please protect them."

"Of course." Helena promises her immediately and rushes out of the pawn shop followed by Myka and Red.

"Now dearies." the Dark One smiles darkly. "Are you two ready to go ask for a wish?"

SQSQSQSQ

 _Beep, beep, beep..._

Steady.

Unchanging.

That was the way his mother's heart was now beating. Looking at the brunette woman laying in front of him, Henry was as close as he could possibly be without causing her some extra harm. While Helena and Myka had explained to him that his mother only had till twelve to be awakened, Henry was fearing that their estimations were wrong. As time had gone by, her mother had become paler, her lips had lost its common color and her body just felt weaker; as if all that made her mother the way she was had been sucked out of her.

Her essence, in a way, was gone and what was left was only a body now.

Closing his eyes in sadness, Henry has done nothing but remember his time with her, as people tend to do when they're close to losing someone they love. And, although now Henry was capable of understanding his mother and accepting her for who she really was, there had been times in his childhood when he had rejected her.

( _Flashback)_

Madly running from the library, Little Henry was so worried that he had completely forgotten that he had magic and could use it to transport himself from one place to another. In fact, all the small child was thinking at the moment was what he had read in one of the many books.

 _The Evil Queen..._

His mom, the person he loved the most, had been the Evil Queen that had killed a lot of people. Not only that, but the woman had been so evil that Snow White and her grandpa had been forced to kill her. She was a witch, a manipulator and a woman with no morals, according to his book. So, if that was true, how could she share True Love with his Ma?

It didn't make sense because evil people were not capable of having True Love, right?

Running faster and with tears in his eyes, it doesn't take that long for Henry to finally find them in the throne room, both women smiling lovingly at each other while Red and his grandpa are telling them something about their latest trip.

"Henry?!" his mom, no, Regina, says worriedly while immediately standing up and going towards him. "What's wrong?"

"Stay away from me you witch!" he screams at her and watches how that makes the brunette freeze.

"Henry!" his Ma tells him shocked while standing next to Regina. "What is the matter with you?!"

"What's wrong with you all?" he asks instead. "She's the Evil Queen and you're all here smiling and laughing with her." he then turns towards the blonde. "You married her!"

"I love her Henry." Emma tells him surely. "And she's not the Evil Queen. She's Regina, Queen of the Dark Kingdom, Consort of the White Kingdom and your mother."

"She's no mother of mine." he spats at her darkly and sees how that breaks her heart completely.

"Henry Daniel..." Emma tells him angrily and it's the first time he ever hears her mother speak like that.

"It's fine Emma." Regina tells her softly and immediately runs away from the room.

"Are you happy now, Henry?" his mother asks him bitterly.

"I was a hero!" he defends himself immediately. "The Evil Queen cannot love because she's evil. She has been tricking us all along. So I think it's fine she finally gets what she deserves."

"It's not fine, child." Granny says immediately and gives Henry a disappointed look. "No child should ever do that to a mother that has done nothing but love and consent him."

"But she's evil." he repeats yet again. "She hurts people because she wants to."

"Right now..." Red is the one that says to him sadly. "The only person I see hurting someone is you, Henry."

"But I'm good!" he cries immediately. "She's the one that killed lots of people."

"We have all killed people." Charming intervenes as well. "I learned, Henry, that life is not only black or white. People are not just good or bad. And good people can do horrible things."

"Like what you just did Henry." Emma tells him somberly. "I'm so disappointed in you." she finishes bitterly and gives Red a sad look. "Please look after him for a while. I will go talk to Regina."

"Please remind her that we love her." Red tells her sadly and Charming nods in agreement.

"And that we're her family no matter what." Granny adds and exhales in relief when Emma leaves the room. "Now go take a shower Henry so we can get supper for you."

"But I always eat with my m... with my Ma." he replies stubbornly.

"I don't think Emma wants to see you right now Henry." Red tells him angrily. "Not after insulting the woman she loves and denying the bond the two of them have."

"You're all on her side!" Henry screams and cries angrily. "I hate her."

 _(End of Flashback)_

"Mom..." Henry whispers brokenly to her while taking her hand. "Please don't leave me." he chokes out while caressing her. "I have so much to make-up to. I still have so much to tell you and the three of us have a lot of things left to do. You can't leave us. You can't leave Ma alone." he smiles sadly. "You know, although she doesn't remember you, she's heartbroken. I can see it in her eyes and that gives me hope. Because I learned from you that the last thing one should lose is hope.

 _(Flashback)_

It had been three days since he found the book. Three days in which he had not seen his mom anywhere around the castle. Although he heard that she was still attending her duties as Queen, the person that placed him in bed was his Ma. And, while she tried to be calm and kind to him, he could see how disappointed he was making her.

And that was hurting him.

But now that he started to notice his Mom's absence he could see that everyone around the castle was saddened and subdued. Almost as if his mom's happiness was tied to the place. But then again, evil was not capable of feeling things.

Right?

Yet, while his Ma still accompanied him to eat lunch and placed him in bed, Red and Granny had refused to talk to him apart from small pleasantries and information about dinner. Because since his Ma ate dinner with his Mom, the only people left to eat with him were Red, Granny and Grandpa. And right now neither of them were really talking to him.

Red and Granny had explained to him the story of the Evil Queen, how she came to be and what truly happened that day his grandpa fought her at the Dark Forest. He heard the tale of how her mother was taken to another realm for 18 years and how Fate forgave her for all her past sins. How she fought with Emma, the White Knight, against Snow White's corruption. How she saved Emma's life and ended up falling in love with her and how she sacrificed her own life for her people.

Basically Henry got told the tale of his mothers' life.

And, while he was feeling regret about the way he had spoken to his mother, he was too proud to apologize for it. Or to beg his mother to listen to him. He wanted to say he was sorry. He missed his Mom terribly and it pained him to realize that all the people that he loved were upset because of him.

Going around the hallways in order to get to the dinner room, it doesn't take much for him to notice that his moms are talking to each other inside their room. Using his magic to transport himself to one of the secret passageways, he smiles when he lands in one that is closest to the room.

"We can't let things continue like this." Emma says bitterly while eating her food. "I don't care what you say about giving Henry time, but we can't let him get away with disrespecting you. You're his mother!"

This makes Henry flinch at the tone of his Ma. She was still so angry.

"He must realize by himself what he have always taught him Emma." his Mom says sadly. "I believe in Henry and that he will do the right thing."

"Right now I don't like Henry so much." the blonde admits and Henry feels tears falling from his eyes.

"Don't feel that way. He's just a child and he has to learn. You know that he's good Emma. I believe in him."

"I was so angry at him when he screamed at you." she confesses to his Mom. "I could feel your heart breaking along with mine."

"I knew he would react badly once he discovered who I was." the brunette admits brokenly. "But I never expected him to reject me. I mean, I loved my mother and you know how she was. How she treated me for so many years."

"I know darling." Emma kisses her softly. "Besides, my mother is not a stellar example of good parenting."

"I just love him so much and it pains me to think that he hates me."

"He's confused Regina. He could never hate you." his Ma promises his Mom and this makes Henry's heart beat erratically.

Transporting himself away from the room, he feels sad and bitter about it all. He had wanted to uncover the truth, to vanquish evil once and for all like his family did when they united the kingdom. And yet, what he had done instead was break his mothers' hearts.

Opening the door to the dining room, Henry slowly takes his seat and notices that the usual people are already ready to eat. It has been tense around the table for the last couple of days since not many of them are feeling alright with him

He has noticed their half-hearted attempts at making conversation with him turn sour as soon as they're reminded of the reason why their Queens are not with them.

"Is there something wrong with the food Henry?" Granny asks him when she notices he's not eating.

"I'm not hurry." he murmurs and stares at the big doors at the edge of the room.

"You must eat some of it." Red tells him firmly.

"I will not eat." Henry says stubbornly. "Not until I see my Mom."

"Why would you wish to see her?" his grandpa asks him curiously. "Isn't she evil?"

"You... you're using my words against me."

"You said she was not your mother and that you hated her." Granny reminds him. "So why would you wish to see her?"

"Because I don't hate her." Henry whispers brokenly. "I love her, she's my Mom and I miss her."

 _(End of Flashback)_

Crying bitterly at the memories that are now on his mind, Henry kisses her mom's forehead and hopes for a miracle. For a ray of light to come pouring from his chest and her heart. For an answer to his prayers and his promises of being a good son and loyal prince. For Fate to help them and finally show them that they deserve happiness and not the shitty hand they have been dealt with.

But nothing happens.

Clutching Regina's hand tighter, he tries again, and again and again until he realizes that nothing will change. Taking a look at the watch, he realizes that they only have 45 minutes left before the clock strikes twelve.

They were running out of time.

"Oh mom. I'm so sorry I failed you." Henry cries again and kisses her one last time, but, unlike the other times, this time the heart monitor in front of him changes its beat.

 _Beepbeepbeep, beepbeepbeep, beep, beep, beep..._

Staring around him, Henry knows that something has changed. The air around him feels differently than before and the fact that his mother somehow reacted to his kiss proves that their True Love was still there.

And if their True Love was here then that meant there was magic.

"Magic is back." he says hopefully but then stares at his mom's still body. "But why didn't it work?" he murmurs brokenly.

"Because while you're her True Love, this time and for this curse she needs her Truest Love." he hears a familiar voice and turns around to see Red, Helena and Myka making their way inside the room.

"Red?" he asks curiously and smiles sadly when the woman gives a nod. "You remember..."

"The curse is weakening." she says simply and goes to lay next to her friend. "My dear Regina..." she whispers brokenly. "Even in our cursed selves we still became friends." she chuckles sadly. "But still, long time no see my friend."

"Wait..." Henry then looks at the two agents. "What are you two doing here? Did you go to the convent?"

"We did Henry." Helena calms him immediately. "And we found out what Snow was hiding there."

"It was a fricking dragon." Myka tells him right away.

"A dragon?" he asks confused. "Who was the dragon?"

"Blue." Red informs him. "But luckily we got some help and were capable of stopping it before it hurt anyone."

"Who?"

"I think you know..." the curly brunette gives him a warm smile. "You were right to have hope in her."

"Emma?" he asks them hopefully.

The three women nod with happy smiles.

"She remembers then?!"

"She's the one that went to the magic well to make magic return to his place." Helena informs him. "That's why you were capable of feeling it a few minutes ago."

"Then that means she's on her way here!" he screams excitedly.

"And she's not the only one." Red interrupts them bitterly. "I can hear the sheriff's car coming."

"Wolf hearing." Henry explains to the two agents. "That means Snow must have also felt the magic and is here to kill my mother and take me away."

"We won't let her." Myka promises him and they take their Teslas out. "We promised Emma to protect Regina and you and that's what we plan to do."

"She's here." Red says and stares at the door with hatred in her eyes. "Snow."

"Red." the Mayor spats bitterly. "I see you remember as well." she then looks at the two agents. "Surprising you made it out of the convent alive."

"We had some help." Myka tells her proudly. "And we will stop you no matter what."

"You may try dears." she then smirks while pointing towards the policemen surrounding the room. "But as long as that curse remains intact I'm the Mayor and you're criminals."

"We shall see..." Helena taunts her but before any of them can react they hear the heart monitor flat line.

"NOOOO!" Henry screams and runs towards the bed.

"It seems that it's too late for Regina." Snow sneers.

SQSQSQSQ

 **SONG: I recommend you all put the song "Once Upon a Time Season 2 Soundtrack True Love" while reading this scene**

"So that's it? Magic is back?" Emma asks Gold when he finishes pouring the vial inside the well.

"Indeed Miss Swan." he smirks. "I'm sure you can feel it in your veins."

Emma nods in agreement because he's right: She can feel it.

"Emma... we have 20 minutes till twelve." Tauriel reminds her.

"Your friend is right dear. You should go." Gold smirks and starts walking away. "Just a reminder that as soon as Regina wakes up and things settle, I expect your two agent friends to honor their deal."

 _What deal?,_ Emma thinks but doesn't ask because she knows that she will have just enough time to reach the hospital. Getting on top of Tauriel's motorcycle, the blonde can notice that the streets of Storybrooke are surprisingly empty.

Or emptier than usual.

Turning around at the street that leads to the hospital, both women stop moving when they see the blockade the sheriff department has done.

"Shit." Emma murmurs while looking around them. "It seems like they have covered all the doors."

"Then let's go through the front." her knight smiles devilishly and Emma uses her magic to give them their armors and weapons.

Stepping in front of the hospital door, she notices some people staring at the two of them as if they were creatures from another universe.

"By order of Mayor Blanchard surrender." one of the cops tells them worriedly. "There's no need to fight."

"We don't want to fight. We just want to go through." Emma explains to him. "Please, the woman I love is dying. Let me see her." she begs him and notices his hesitation.

Stepping closer to him, Tauriel notices that it's Dorian and smiles sadly at him.

"I know you feel in your heart that this is all wrong." she notices the way he looks at her knowingly. "Trust your gut and let us through."

Nodding, Dorian tells the rest of cops to lower their guns and both women run forward, Emma only making use of her magic to open doors and push farther away the cops that were not willing to listen. Knowing that she's getting closer to her beloved, Emma sees Anthony standing outside of her room with some cops; and, without even considering an attempt to talk to him, she pushes them all away from the door.

"NOOOOO!" she hears Henry scream and feels her heart tear itself.

 _Regina..._ she thinks worriedly and runs inside the room to notice Snow staring happily at the scene in front of her.

"It seems that it's too late for Regina." her mother sneers and Emma screams from the door, making all stare at her bewildered. "Emma. You remember..."

"I will kill you!" she tries to run towards Snow but is stopped by Red who is holding her tight. "Let me go!"

"Emma... Don't. Not now. Henry needs you." she whispers brokenly. "Regina..."

"Regina is dead." she cries brokenly. "My Truest Love is gone Red."

"Yes." her mom reminds her sadly. "But Henry is still here and he needs you darling."

"We'll take her." Helena promises and uses her cuffs on Snow who is laughing at them.

"No matter what you do the moment my cops wake up you will all be in jail. I won."

"No you didn't." Henry says from besides Regina and stretches his hand. "Ma..." he whispers to her. "Kiss her."

"But Henry..." Emma chokes out.

"Kiss her Ma." he repeats to her surely. "Believe."

Nodding in determination, Emma gets close to the bed and uses her hand to caress her wife. Smiling sadly at her, she can't help but remember their time in Storybrooke and how wonderful Regina had been with her. In fact, she couldn't help but chuckle sadly at the realization that her wife had made her fall in love with her twice. Once as Emma White and the other as Emma Swan.

"I love you Regina." she promises her wife and lowers her lips so that they can softly caress the ones of her wife.

As soon as Emma does that she can feel the familiar warmth that came from their combined magic pouring out of them, and, if she bases herself on the exclamations surrounding them, she's pretty sure that they're seeing a white light surrounding the two of them.

Stepping away from her wife, Emma opens her eyes to see familiar brown ones staring lovingly at her.

"You found me." Regina says to her with a smile on her face.

"You did it." Snow whispers shocked at the scene in front of them.

This makes Emma sob happily.

"I will always find you Regina." she promises her wife and kisses her again on the lips, this time grabbing Henry's hand and pushing him so he can also hug Regina tightly.


End file.
